


If You Want to Summon a Demon

by TrappedInAPentagram



Series: If You Want to Summon a Demon [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Demon Summoning, M/M, Magical Artifacts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-06 03:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 75,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1843084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrappedInAPentagram/pseuds/TrappedInAPentagram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos, as a young scientist, left his home to study abroad. He ends up in the town of Nightvale hoping to study under a certain conjurer named Steve Carlsburg, a somewhat shady person, but Carlos trusts he'll be a good instructor in the magical arts nonetheless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> New NV fic, yaaay! Please keep in mind comments are welcome, and if you get tired of waiting for updates, you can read my other NV fic, When Planes Collide. Once again, I'm co-authoring this with my lovely girlfriend. Without further ado, enjoy the fic!

Steve opened his grand double doors for his new apprentice, who had arrived right on time. The ceiling of Steve’s entryway was arched and a majority of the room was white with orange accents. If there were any decorations to speak of, there was a coat rack by the door and a chair in the corner, along with a large, ornate rug in the center of the room. There were no pictures on the walls, but there was a shelf with some odd and end objects, among them being an hourglass, a small vase with yellow flowers (that looked like they needed watering), and what appeared to be a deer antler. By most standards, Steve was one of the wealthier members of town, but no one trusted him all that much, for he was known to use magic. Magic in any form was seen as taboo in Night Vale, and the town citizens preferred to avoid disasters, seeing as they were in the middle of a desert and the closest help was the Bluffs, but no one spoke of that god-forsaken place, either.

"Carlos, you sure know how to impress for your first day," Steve said with a grin and stood aside, gesturing the scientist into his home. Steve was tall, wore a gray suit, and had his ginger hair combed back. He had a small beard in the middle of his chin, likely trying to pass as an important person. 

Carlos nodded nervously, shifting the books in his grasp and entering the unusual looking house, noting the archaic runes protecting the doors and windows. His curly brown locks weren't as much of a mess as usual, as he had actually taken the time to try and tame it before presenting himself to his new instructor. He wasn't wearing anything special either, just some worn sneakers, a button up green shirt, the least-ruined pair of jeans he owned, and of course, his white lab coat.

"You don't have to be so stiff, you know," Steve chuckled, shutting the door behind Carlos and beckoning him to follow through the front entrance. The sound of their shoes on the white marble floor echoed through the house as he continued, "I know the first day is always a bit nerve-wracking." Carlos made a noise that seemed to indicate agreement but had no real meaning, instead focused on absorbing the orange decorations around the house and the runes that seemed to be woven into every surface.

Steve said, "Well, I know you must be excited to get started on all the things you'll be able to do with magic, but the first thing you have to keep in mind is that it's a dangerous tool that wears down the caster if it's misused. That being said, I prefer, or rather forbid, you from going through the estate and grabbing whatever magical items tickle your fancy."

"I wasn't planning on it," Carlos said, the thought honestly not even having occurred to him.

"We'll be starting with some simple alchemy, partially so I can show you at least where to find the greenhouse. Before that, do you think you'll need another tour of the estate to know your way around?" he asked, as Carlos had been to his house once before for the interview.

"Um," Carlos said, wanting to be shown where things were but not wanting to bother him, "I don’t... think so?"

"If you find yourself lost, there are several stations like this one around the house to bring up a sort of holographic map," Steve gestured to a small panel on the wall, waving his hand and making a floor plan of the estate appear in a strange white glowing light. It wasn’t caused by technology but by an enchantment. 

"Oh," Carlos said, "that's good." He shifted his grip again, one of his scrolls almost dropping.

Steve rubbed his hands together, saying, "As I've mentioned before, just to refresh your mind of course, as my apprentice I'll send you around on occasion to bring me certain things for whatever we're practicing that day. This will ensure you learn your way around the house and get familiar with such magical objects. But _only_ grab what I instruct you to bring." He lead Carlos past several halls and doors, passing a window overlooking an outdoor courtyard with a pond in the middle of the sizable house. He unlocked a door, pushing one of the two doors open and standing aside for Carlos, shutting it behind him. The space was practically empty save for some cabinetwork and a large pentagram in the center of the room that looked to be stained directly into the stone floor. There were very few windows in this corner room of the house, and they had thick curtains draped beside them, letting light in for the moment. The curtains themselves looked like they had gone through a lot, some sporting scorch marks and others appearing to be splattered with ink, or perhaps blood. 

"Right," Carlos said, glancing to the pentagram on the floor and the bloodstone circles on the walls not occupied by cabinetry.

Steve halted by the pentacle, saying, "As a special treat, I figured, being a scientist, you might be interested in taking notes on watching a master like myself at work? It'd give you a good idea of what we conjurers are capable of."

"Oh, yes," Carlos said, starting to short through his pile of books for a notebook, "that'd be great."

Steve grinned, "Very well then, first task after you've found whatever you're rifling for: bring me the blue canister of salt in the upper left-hand cabinet just over there," he gestured to a wall of supply cabinets to the left with sliding doors, all with a rune seal on the handle. "The seals are there so conjured beings can't attempt to go through my belongings should something go wrong."

Carlos nodded, setting his books on a table and tucking his notebook under his arm. He headed for the cabinet, ignoring the pickled toes and cursed mustard to find the salt.

Steve spoke as Carlos rifled through the cabinets, "Today you'll be observing a summoning. I'm calling forth one of the strongest demons I dare. First and foremost about summoning such beings is making _absolutely_ sure that the pentagram you're using is sealed tight, and is made with exact measurements. Some lower level wizards draw imperfect pentagrams with temporary chalk and pay dearly for it. It's much simpler to use permanent ink and get the measurements perfect in one go rather than have to redo it tens of hundreds of times."

"Of course," Carlos said, finally locating the salt and carefully walking around the pentagram to hand it to him.

"Thank you," Steve said, pouring a little in his hand and wiping his palms together before edging the pentacle in salt. "For reasons no one is quite sure of, demons hate salt, but it's not a necessary addition to the pentagram. I use it for the higher level demons in case they get ideas," he rolled his eyes. Carlos nodded, resisting asking if they didn't eat fries then and instead taking out a piece of coal to take notes.

Steve cracked his knuckles and continued, "When summoning creatures, you can stand anywhere outside the pentagram, however, you must not enter the circle once the demon is summoned. One toe through the line could cost your life. Also, when saying the words of summoning and binding, even one syllable of a slip-up could cause the fiend to be able to escape. They're very tricky devils." Carlos nodded, starting to jot down notes and checking the time, waiting for it to be the sunset, as demons could only be summoned at certain times with the position of the sun or moon–-sunrise, noon, sunset, or midnight.

Steve said, "As a final thing, the demon I'm summoning today prefers it to be dark, but I generally summon it when there's a bit of light left so that, if for whatever reason it escapes, it won't go outside. It isn't a fan of the sun, but I've heard its brother is. Any questions?"

"No, sir," Carlos said, marking down the demon's dislike of the sun.

"If you want, you can ask it questions, though it will be deceitful and likely try to trick you into doing something stupid, being new to the business. Don't share personal information with it either; it's a fast learner, this one," Steve glared into the pentagram as though the demon were already present. Carlos nodded again, making a note of that and changing the page in case he got a chance to sketch it.

"Well then, without further ado, allow me silence to get started," Steve said, rolling his shoulders before starting to speak.


	2. The Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> agh sorry these are turning out to be such short chapters, they'll probably turn longer once more stuff starts going down ;3

Steve spoke in a foreign language, what sounded like it could be Sumerian or some other eastern tongue. Carlos watched carefully, noting the pentagram starting to glow softly and the candles in the room burst alight. The sound of rushing wind started to surround them, though there was no clear breeze in the room. Steve didn't take note of any of the side effects, even when the corners of the room started loosing their colors, the effect slowly spreading through the rest of the room except for the humans and the pentagram. Carlos took notes on the speeds of the effects, realizing quickly that smoke had started to fill the pentagram.

The smoke oddly fell from the ceiling in a ring directly above the pentagram, billowing out and up as though an invisible barrier were blocking it. A glowing pillar of light inside the smoke appeared next, turning the smoke a shade of purple, oddly enough. Carlos noted the color and gas density, also checking the temperature in the room-just a bit warmer than normal- and watched the smoke shape itself.

The smoke slowly started curling and forming tentacles that prodded and ran along the inside of the circle, the column of smoke remaining as two glowing, solid purple eyes floated into being in the smoke, a bored voice asking, "Don't you have anything else to summon, Carlsburg? I don't know, maybe a brain?" The voice was incredibly smooth, and rich but not overly deep.

Carlos barely restrained a snort, hiding his smile with a cough and scribbling something on his paper.

Steve sighed, "That's enough, Cecil."

"Is it? Is it really? You seem to have forgotten the suggestion often enough," the apparent demon named Cecil responded, eyes blinking slowly.

Carlos watched, surprised that the demon was sassing his summoner.

Steve frowned, "One more of those comments will only earn you punishment."

Cecil sighed, "Very well. What knowledge could you possibly want today?"

Steve said, "Actually, I'm here to introduce you to someone," with a glance to Carlos.

Cecil's eyes turned in the column, one widening slightly more than the other as though he were raising a brow, "New blood? Run while you can, kid. Literally anyone would be a better teacher than Carlsburg."

Carlos cleared his throat quietly, not really wanting to agree or disagree with this comment and simply rubbing a hand through his hair awkwardly.

Steve sighed with exasperation, "Cecil, why don't you take on your usual guise for him."

"Why should I?" Cecil asked, his tentacles curling toward one another and writhing in irritation.

Steve gave him a look and said, "Because it'd be _polite_."

Cecil sighed heavily, "Very well, see what he makes of it," as the smoke in the pentacle started to clear up, becoming more like a light purple fog as the large eyes shrunk to normal size, remaining one shade of purple and continuing to glow as a lanky silhouette appeared. Cecil had his arms crossed, and he was extremely thin but retained a good form, namely his trim waist. The only detail they could see in the silhouette were purple lines like tattoos covering his apparently shirtless form. The tattoos moved, shifting about his arms as the tentacles testing the lines on the floor finally receded. Cecil turned only his head to Carlos, waiting expectantly.

Carlos blinked, resisting the very strong urge to stare and instead clearing his throat, itching to sketch him and saying, "Hi?"

"Wow, he's as original as you," Cecil said, looking back to Steve.

Steve said, "Alright fine, I'll make you a deal. If you cooperate for another couple minutes I'll send you back."

"Deal, what else?" Cecil asked.

Steve said, "Get rid of all the getup that's supposed to make you look intimidating. He needs to learn what demons really look like."

Cecil sighed, "Very well," as the fog cleared, revealing Cecil to look...surprisingly human, sans the purple moving tentacles of tattoos. His eyes turned to normal humanoid ones, though his irises still appeared to practically glow. His longer blonde hair had a slight curve to it on top, and the back of his head and neck were shaved shorter with darker colored hair. He was indeed shirtless, wearing normal looking tan pants and was barefoot as well. "Happy?" he asked.

Carlos blinked again, coughing quietly and mumbling something to himself about notes, scribbling something on his paper.

Steve nodded curtly, "Yes, that will do. This is to prove the point that demons look very similar to us, in their own ways, and thus if one crossed here of its own will, we would have no idea unless it did something drastic." As he spoke, Cecil moved his hand in a 'talk talk talk' gesture when Steve wasn't looking. Carlos snorted and covered it with a cough, covering his mouth with a hand and clearing his throat.

"Now then, Carlos, is there anything you wanted to ask it or something you needed to cover before I send it back?" Steve asked.   
Cecil said, "I thought you'd summoned me so you could bask in my dashing good looks, actually," with a coy smirk, Steve shooting him a glare.

"I don’t think I needed anything in particular," Carlos said, pretending not to hear the comment about the looks.

Steve said, "Very well then," before saying a short word of dismissal. 

They heard Cecil's voice as he faded away, saying, "Seriously kid, find a new tutor, like a brick. It'd be more interesting," before the room was silent and the colors were back to normal.

Carlos blinked, saying, "You sent him back already?"

Steve shrugged, "I never keep him around long anyway; mainly I ask him questions and opinions before experimenting. Even though he's a bit sassy, he's very knowledgeable."

"Why is he so... sassy?" Carlos asked.

Steve said, "I don't know, I suppose after a few centuries I'd get bored with life, too. Demons have a different sense of time than humans. Also, I suppose he's not too fond of me summoning him 'so often', that is to say, about once a month."

"Is that often, for summoning demons?" Carlos asked.

"He might see it that way," Steve said. "Time runs faster in whatever realm they call home."

"How often do people normally summon demons?" Carlos asked.

Steve chuckled, "None too often, and why didn't you ask these to Cecil?"

"He seemed to be a bit biased," Carlos said.

Steve made a 'true' face and said, "Well, probably so, yes. Anyway, now that that's done and over with, how about I show you the greenhouse and how to mix up a few simpler potions, like a draught used to prevent infections?"

"Sure," Carlos said, finishing his notes and wishing he’d had more time to talk to Cecil.


	3. The Second Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeee so many new readers, welcome welcome! pro-tip, we've been writing this one more than our other fic of late, but we're sticking to shorter chapters for this one so it should go faster. or it would if my co-author wasn't in an internship. also pro-tip: angels like going on walks, but don't let them get to your shoes. ;)

In a span of five days, Carlos had proven to be a protégé in the magical arts. Steve was proud of him for catching on to alchemy so quickly, moving him to more advanced potions by day three. They were in a vented room, which had no windows and was connected to the greenhouse for convenience, and there were shelves lining the walls with beakers and vials filled with a variety of ingredients and potions alike. Steve was measuring out and cutting fresh ingredients from the garden as Carlos used the mortar and pestle and mixed ingredients over a Bunsen burner. Carlos was wondering why exactly they were making a love potion but wasn't questioning Steve, hoping to keep on his good side to be able to ask a favor later.

Steve said, "Carlos, could you bring me a bone from the usual pile?" as he focused on cutting a plant's leaves. He had a large pile of odd and end bones in a corner of the room, mainly needed for the marrow, the more extravagant bone ingredients from more rare creatures in another cabinet entirely.

Carlos grabbed a bone, handing it to him and going back to grinding the stones he'd been given into dust.

"Thank you," Steve said, using a tool to cut the bone in half vertically and using another to begin scraping the marrow out. Carlos added the dust to the pot and picked up a sugar cane stick to stir.

Steve said, "So Carlos, I meant to ask how you're liking the internship? Is there anything I can do to make it a better experience, for example?"

"I'm really liking it," Carlos said, glad he'd asked. "I was just wondering, when was the next time you were going to summon Cecil?"

Steve blinked, turning his head and pausing in scraping out the bone, "I don't have much reason to of late. I mentioned when you first met him I only summon him about once a month in our time."

"I know," Carlos said, setting the stick aside and grabbing a few dried flowers.

"Is there a reason you ask?" Steve raised a brow, turning back to his work.

"I was just hoping to ask him some questions," Carlos said, starting to rub the flowers between his hands over the pot, letting the fragments float down.

Steve thought a moment, saying, "Well, if this turns out successful, I suppose I could summon it again, but it'll probably be irritable about being called so soon."

Carlos nodded, saying, "Thank you," and stirring the pot again.

When they were finally done after another hour of mixing the potion, it turned out it was indeed ready, according to Steve. He washed his hands, saying, "So, did you want to have some sort of dinner beforehand, or are you eager to meet it again?"

"Um," Carlos said, weighing his options, "whichever you'd prefer."

Steve checked the time by glancing to the angle of the sun when they had left the alchemy room, saying, "Hm, by the time dinner is made and eaten it might be too late to summon it, and there's no way I'm summoning it at midnight."

"I could go get the salt then," Carlos offered.

Steve nodded, "Sure, I'll check the runes and the pentacle," as he walked down the hall, through the courtyard, and back into the house to the left towards the summoning room. Carlos followed him, grabbing the salt canister from the shelf and double-checking that it was in fact the salt, not sugar, container.

Steve allowed Carlos to carefully administer salt to the ring, as the pentagram itself absorbed the salt after every summoning, so cleaning it was never needed, but refills were. Steve asked, "So, you ready?"

Carlos nodded, mumbling the protective incantation and standing back. Steve nodded, as Carlos had used the right wording, and started the words of summoning, facing his palms towards the pentagram. Carlos watched the smoke begin to collect in the pentagram, casually jotting down what Steve was saying.

As they had the first time, the smoke turned into tentacles that tested the edges of the pentagram, though Cecil skipped the dramatics and showed up in human form, or...mostly so. He had sharp spines lining the middle of his back and a scaled tail, as well as claws on his fingers. He rubbed his eye, which now had cat pupils, and asked, "By the Void, I hardly get the chance to visit home now?"

Carlos blinked, forgetting what he had been going to ask when the demon showed up. Steve said, "Actually, I'm not the one in need of questions being answered."

"Oh boy, what philosophical, deep questions does your apprentice have for me?" Cecil said, seemingly in a bad mood as he looked to Carlos.

Carlos blinked, "Uuuhh... how many colors do you see?"

Cecil raised a brow, "I'll give you my answer in exchange for your name?"

" _Cecil_ ," Steve said sharply, snapping his fingers and suddenly causing a shock of pain to the demon, who roared shortly and cringed inward.

Cecil bared sharp teeth and growled, "I was only _asking_ , calm down!"

Steve said firmly, "Just answer his question and don't ask any of your own." Carlos frowned, wondering why that had warranted a shock and debating asking.

Cecil glared at Steve, saying flatly, "Demons have words for colors a human can't even comprehend. We see colors on several spectrums, and it's partially why the color drain effect happens when I'm summoned. My presence is meshing with your realm, trying to bend light in the way I see it."

"Oh," Carlos said, "that's interesting."

Cecil said, "Really it's just trying to withstand my presence, me not belonging here. Then again, if I stayed here long enough, I presume the color effect would fade."

Steve sighed, "It'd fade if you'd stop sucking up so much power."

"Does he just do that inherently, or....?" Carlos asked.

Cecil shrugged, "Most of the time, yes."

"Ok," Carlos mumbled, flipping through his notebook for his list of questions.

Cecil sighed, "I feel like I should pull up a chair."

Steve shrugged, "You may as well."

Cecil rolled his shoulders, the spines lining his back sinking into his skin along with his tail and claws, keeping his cat pupils as his tentacles folded themselves into a seat for himself. Carlos found his list, blushing and mumbling an apology before asking, "What do you eat?"

Cecil raised a brow, "I'm...not entirely sure humans would have terms for it. The realm I hail from is certainly an interesting one, though by human definition, I suppose I'd be considered mostly an herbivore. I stay away from salt, for one," he stuck his tongue out in distaste, "and meat never appealed to me."

Carlos nodded, taking notes on this and asking, "Are there family structures?"

Cecil thought, "I wouldn't say by blood. Certainly there are demons who look alike and others who consider themselves to be family, but we aren't...created in the way humans are. Any bonds made between demons are exclusively through deciding they share one."

"Ah," Carlos mumbled, writing that down as well.

"May I ask a question?" Cecil asked, adding quickly, "NON-personal?" at Steve's look.

"Yyyeeesss?" Carlos asked, also glancing to Steve.

"Why are you curious about my side of the realm?" Cecil asked, folding his arms over his chest. "When Carlsburg calls me he only asks about what spells he can do to grab the attention of a certain lady friend. Humans are so mundane..." he added in a mumble to himself.

"I'm just curious," Carlos shrugged.

"Really?" Cecil said with a hint of skepticism. He gave Carlos a once-over, saying, "So you're some sort of scientist, here to learn about magic, this being one of the only towns in the world with a strong magic accumulation, and at a guess, your family doesn't know your true intent for leaving home?"

"Uh," Carlos said, rubbing the back of his neck. He was spot on.

"Mmm, interesting," Cecil leaned back with a grin, continuing to scan Carlos with an almost hungry look.

Steve said, "That's enough out of you," as he snapped again, Cecil wincing and growling as his tentacles curled inward. Steve continued, "Carlos, did you have other questions?"

"Like demon abuse?" Cecil mumbled.

Carlos frowned, again wondering why Cecil had been punished and stuttering, "N-no, no more questions."

Cecil said, "Great, can I go?" with grit teeth.

"I suppose," Steve said, speaking the dismissive word. Cecil glanced to Carlos with an almost scrutinizing look, fading away without a word.


	4. The Summoning

Steve kept Carlos busy over the next couple weeks, at last allowing Carlos to enter the library and start studying the foreign languages needed to summon creatures. Unbeknownst to Steve, Carlos had long since found his own books to study the language, carefully translating the notes he had taken from watching Steve summon Cecil the second time.

Carlos held his breath, it being the dead of night and not wanting to alert Steve, and tiptoed cautiously down the hall and into the summoning room. He moved with the utmost caution, holding his breath again to open the cabinet door and easing the jar of salt out of it, lining the pentagram with the granules. He then took out his notebook, murmuring the incantation carefully. The sound of rushing wind surrounded him again, the pentagram glowing white before turning purple and then red, which normally didn't happen.

"Oh..." Carlos mumbled, backing up, "I think I did it wrong."

A dark chuckling filled the room, Cecil's voice saying, "Yeah, you did," before he appeared in the pentagram, his tentacles gently testing the border again before he held a hand out, an invisible wall appearing to crack and shatter when Cecil's tentacles shoved through it. Carlos cursed under his breath, dropping his notebook and backing away.

Cecil began to stroll forward, starting to say, "I guess I should thank-" before he paused, stepping on the line of the pentagram with a bare foot. He blinked, looking down when it didn't burn. He tilted his head, saying, "That's not salt," more to himself, a tentacle rolling in the granules before he licked it off, smacking his lips and bit and humming, "Mm," excitedly, other tentacles brushing the apparent sugar into a pile. Carlos froze, cursing again when he realized he had gotten the sugar, not salt.

Cecil snacked on the sugar a little more before remembering he had company, clearing his throat and folding the tentacles back into tattoos as he walked forward, the tentacles having put the sugar in his back pocket for later. "Right, where were we?" Cecil grinned with suddenly sharp teeth.

"Uh," Carlos said, wracking his brains for some form of defense.

Cecil sighed, "You humans are so feeble, it astounds me," as his tattoos manifested again, only to grab Carlos by the wrists and ankles.

Carlos yelped, trying to struggle free and quickly finding himself immobile.

Cecil walked forward, hit tentacles shortening as his walked, he asking, "No final words before I go crush Carlsburg?"

"Uh," Carlos said, "crush Carls…Steve?"

Cecil shrugged with a thoughtful look, saying, "Not quite the last words I would've picked, but do you know how long I've wanted to kill that guy? He's such a-" here Cecil snarled a word that was inhuman.

"I don’t...really want you to kill him?" Carlos said.

Cecil glared at him, asking, "What _possible_ defense could you have for him?"

"Uh," Carlos said, "I don’t really have a defense, but I also don’t really want him to die..."

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "Couldn't have said it better myself," flatly as he grew claws, drawing his hand back and looking like he was about to punch a hole through Carlos' chest. Carlos winced, flinching back and shutting his eyes. 

Cecil hesitated then, blinking and studying Carlos again, shaking his head and sighing, drawing his tentacles back into tattoos and resting his hand at his side. Carlos remained frozen for a moment before cracking one eye open, not entirely sure what was going on.

Cecil hadn't moved, looking off to the side and deep in thought. "Why'd you summon me?" he asked, still not looking at Carlos.

"I... wanted to ask a question?" Carlos said, still frozen in place with one eye open.

He looked back to Carlos with eyes narrowed, saying, "What else is new? Get to it."

"Uh," Carlos said, opening his other eye and backing away slowly, "I was... just wondering why he kept punishing you."

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "That's all? You risked summoning me in the dead of night because you cared why I was being punished?"

"I was... curious," Carlos said, "and I figured you had questions..."

Cecil started slightly and blinked, opening his mouth and shutting it again. After a moment, he said, "You're the strangest human I've ever met and I don't even know your name."

"Uh," Carlos said, guessing he was probably somehow going to regret telling his name, and saying, "Carlos," anyways.

Cecil studied him again, saying, "Well, Carlos, I suppose I owe it to you, bringing me here and not being bound by that-" here he said another inhuman word- "death trap you call a pentagram. He was punishing me, I'd guess, to attempt at keeping me in line. Humans seem to _love_ to flaunt your power over us whenever possible."

"But you didn’t... do anything," Carlos frowned, starting to relax slightly.

"Yeah, well, he gets irritated easily, and for that matter, so do I when it comes to him," Cecil grumbled, his tentacles folding into a chair for himself again.

"Oh," Carlos said, blinking and not really sure what happened next. "Do you have a question?"

Cecil said, "That's a serious offer?" again with a hint of skepticism, yet a tone of surprise. "You didn't learn the same punishing words from Carlsburg in the time I've been home?"

"I don't know any," he said, "I didn't ask."

"Hm, then I suppose my one question remains why you're curious about me so much, or if not that, why you care?" Cecil asked, eyes never straying away.

"I'm just... curious, I guess. It's a fascinating study."

Cecil snorted a chuckle at that, leaning back, "Right. I admit it's a nice change in pace, but I also hope you know my thoughts on ending Carlsburg still stand."

"Well, I mean," Carlos frowned, "he's not the most... I don’t agree with everything he does, but I don’t want to be indirectly responsible for his death."

Cecil shrugged, "Why not? Everyone dies eventually. It was also indirectly his fault for letting you stay up so late," he smirked.

"He didn’t, I just stayed up. I really shouldn't be here."

Cecil snorted, "Damn right you shouldn't, and that's half the reason I spared you. A kid brand new to the magical arts summoning my class of demon at the point of night when we're at our strongest? That's either bravery or stupidity, but I'm reading a bit of both."

"I couldn't summon you at another time," Carlos protested, "Steve would have found out."

"Bravery it was, then," Cecil said, "for he must have warned you about the whole midnight thing. Why _don't_ you want the brick finding out, by the way?"

"Well, he didn’t want me to summon anything," Carlos said, "and he would have asked why, and I don’t think he'd be really happy to know I’m questioning his methods."

"All fair points- you're bright for a human," Cecil said, nonchalantly fishing some sugar out of his pocket with a tentacle and licking it off again.

Carlos watched, asking after a moment, "You like sugar?"

Cecil licked his lips, making a faint purring sound and saying, "It's somewhat of a delicacy where I come from. You'd be hard pressed to find a decent patch of sugar cane in my realm."

"We have a lot of it," Carlos said, "do you have candy there?"

Cecil chuckled, but the twinkling sound ended in a forlorn sigh, "No, not really. When we can't get our sugar fixes, we resort to the next best thing: the demon equivalent of alcohol or cigarettes. I actually prefer human cigarettes if I can find them, but then I have to get involved in...what would you call it...the black market?"

"Oh," Carlos said, "do you want some? I have Skittles."

Cecil blinked, saying, "I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea what you're talking about. Though I'll take coffee if you have it."

"Ok," Carlos said, rifling in his back pocket and finding the half-eaten family size of skittles he had there, handing it to Cecil. Cecil glanced to the bag, raising a brow at him as though it might be some sort of newly devised trick humans had come up with against demons. "It's a candy," Carlos said, "they're all different flavors."

Cecil hesitantly reached out to take the bag, pouring a few into his hand and popping them in his mouth, chewing before his pupil's dilated and he shortly opened his now slightly-larger mouth, dropping the bag in its entirety onto his tongue and chewing happily, making a louder purring noise.

Carlos watched, chuckling and heading to the kitchen to make coffee.


	5. Another Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bear with me, I know this chapter is short but that's because the next one is long, and for those new to the fic, welcome :D and I swear the pace picks up again, we haven't gotten to the good stuff yet

Carlos had two mugs of coffee in his hands, looking to Cecil on the floor and asking "...Are you all right?"

Cecil sighed, "I'm fine, but I get bored, too. There's _nothing to do_ in this room, all the cabinets were sealed," he grumped.

"Oh," Carlos said, setting the coffee next to him and sitting, "can't you just go home?"

"Not without the word of dismissal," Cecil said, sitting up and crossing his legs. "That's our drawback. For all our power, only the strongest can cross between this realm and ours at will, but the odds they'd choose to are slim. Demons all generally find this realm rather boring."

"Oh," Carlos said, "do you know the words? And do you want to go home now?"

"I've heard Carlsburg say it often enough, it's something like ralon, or return. But...I'd be willing to stick around a bit longer if you help me dispel the rune on the door."

"Is that because you want to kill him?" Carlos asked, sipping his coffee.

"Nnnooo," Cecil said, trying his own coffee and glad Carlos had put a lot of sugar in it.

"Mhmm," Carlos leaned back against a potted plant.

"You can't blame me," Cecil grumbled, taking another drink.

"No, but I still don't agree with it."

Cecil groaned, knocking his head back against one of his tentacles and sighing, "Well then, unless we have further questions for one another, I believe my business is done here for tonight."

"Ok" Carlos said, "I have more Skittles for the road, if you want."

Cecil chuckled, "I could probably use them for the equivalent of cash back home, so sure." Carlos popped back into the kitchen, grabbing a bag and handing it to him. "Thanks," Cecil said, pocketing the bag eagerly and saying, "you'll have to bring those more often."

"Sure," Carlos said, "they're easy to get, and I like them, too"

Cecil smirked a little at that, "Alright then. But before I go, I do have a question, if you'll indulge me."

"Sure," Carlos said, sipping his coffee again.

"And for the record, it might be personal, but...why didn't you tell your family you were coming out here to study magic?"

"They wouldn't agree with it," Carlos replied evenly, "they would try hard not to let me."

Cecil sighed, "Just another family paranoid about the dangers or disbelief of it, I suppose. What caught your interest about the arts?"

"I just thought it was a fascinating line of study. We don't know much about it."

Cecil chuckled, "No, you don't. That being said, I think I've had enough of this world for now."

"Okay. How do I send you back again?"

"Ralon, I think, or some variation of return."

"Ralon?" Carlos set down his coffee.

Cecil sighed, "Well say it with confidence," before giving Carlos a small grin. "And...feel free to call again."

"Oh," Carlos blinked, "okay. Ralon." Cecil took a deep breath as he started to fade out, giving Carlos a small nod before disappearing entirely. Carlos blinked, realizing when Cecil was gone what had happened and slowly leaning his head back against the plant.


	6. Questions and Answers

Three days passed before Carlos couldn't stop himself any longer. At midnight, Cecil appeared in the pentagram again, using his silhouette-with-glowy-eyes getup before realizing it was Carlos and dropped it for his normal skin, plus cat pupils. "Ah, just you again," he said, his tentacles folding out into a sort of table which he lay stomach down on. He crossed his legs and bent them up behind him, resting an elbow on the "table" and resting his head in his hand, waiting inside the pentagram expectantly.

"I had a few more questions," Carlos said, "and starbursts."

Cecil tilted his head, asking, "Are they anything like skittles?"

"Sorta," Carlos said, handing him a pink one, "you chew them." 

Cecil took it and popped it in his mouth without unwrapping it, chewing contently and purring again, his legs unfolding and crossing again the opposite way happily. "So, now that you're bringing bribes, I can't imagine the questions are simple ones?"

"Well, I just actually wanted you to try one. But I was wondering if it was possible for a human to travel to the demon realm?"

Cecil stopped chewing at that, blinking and focusing on Carlos from where his gaze had been drifting. "Uhm..." Cecil said, rubbing his neck. "You know, I'm not sure it's ever been attempted, because it'd probably be a very bad idea."

"I wasn't going to try it," Carlos said, "I was just wondering."

Cecil rubbed his temple with two fingers, saying slowly, "Well, I suppose it'd be _possible_ , but every demon in the realm would know you're there the minute you stepped in. We're keen to foreign substances, hence my missing skittles," he pouted.

"Someone stole them?" Carlos asked.

"No," Cecil scoffed, "demons don't try to steal from the likes of me unless they have a death wish. I traded them, figuring I could get more, actually."

Carlos chuckled, "There are some somewhere; I can't help myself buying them."

"I wouldn't be able to, either," Cecil chuckled. "Um...can I have another starburst?"

"Sure," Carlos said, handing him a red one this time.

Cecil took it with a tentacle and tossed it in his mouth again, humming at the flavor and asking, "How many kinds are there?"

"Four," Carlos said, "orange, lemon, cherry, and.. pink."

Cecil raised a brow, "Pink doesn't get a name? Pink gets the boring old color term?"

"I don’t know, it doesn’t really taste like a real flavor, it's probably strawberry," Carlos admitted.

Cecil shrugged, "As long as it's sugar, it could be flavored seaweed for all I care."

Carlos chuckled, "I can't wait to show you hot chocolate."

Cecil blinked, asking, "They have that?" in a tone borderline disbelief, yet excitement.

"Yeah, it's a drink, kinda like warm chocolate milk?"

Cecil's jaw dropped, and he stared at Carlos a few moments before asking, "Well why aren't we drinking any?"

"It's the summer..." Carlos started, before sighing and saying, "Nevermind, I'll make some."

"Good man," Cecil grinned, glancing down and realizing he was still in the pentagram as a force of habit. He frowned slightly and glanced up, "I don't suppose you used sugar this time?"

"I did," Carlos said, standing to head to the kitchen. Cecil licked his lips and used a spare tentacle to scrape it up, eating it as he waited for Carlos' return.

Carlos made the hot chocolate quickly, the mix speeding up the process significantly. He dropped marshmallows into the mugs before bringing it over to Cecil. Cecil was messing around with his tentacles outside the pentagram when Carlos got back--that is, he was somehow twisting them into intricate models of Steve dying in various ways.

Carlos shorted when he saw the tentacles, saying, "You're not allowed to go kill him," as he handed him a mug.

Cecil sighed dramatically, "Yeah, I know," as the tentacles unfolded themselves, most returning to tattoos as a couple stayed manifested to take a mug, bringing it to his hands as he smelled it before trying a sip, humming in appreciation. He sat cross legged and took another sip while purring, undaunted by the hot temperature.

Carlos sat again, asking, "Can you feel the temperature?"

Cecil said, "To you it might be hot, but the general temperature of the demon realm is always sweltering compared to this."

"Oh," Carlos said, "are you cold? I could get a blanket."

Cecil shrugged, "It doesn't bother me much. Demons adjust quickly to temperature."

"Blanket's right over there," Carlos offered. Cecil stayed silent, instead slowly taking a sip of the hot chocolate and not offering an opinion. Carlos stood, grabbing a blanket and a cushion and coming back, offering both to him.

"Erm...thanks," Cecil said, taking the blanket with a tentacle and curling it around his shoulders, settling comfortably and purring as he drank more hot chocolate.

"Welcome," Carlos said, sitting on the cushion, "why do you purr?"

Cecil blinked, giving Carlos a look and saying, "I don't know if it's any of your concern," before taking a drink.

"I'm just wondering. Do other demons purr?"

Cecil paused and pursed his lips a bit, "Not really, no."

"Why do you, then?" Carlos asked, sipping his hot chocolate. Cecil frowned, becoming rather tight lipped but almost sheepish looking, taking another drink and glancing away. "Whaaat?" Carlos asked, "c'mon, there has to be a reason."

Cecil bristled, "No there doesn't," as his shoulders tensed up, the tattoos on his arms moving seemingly stiffly.

Carlos tilted his head, asking, "Why are you upset about this?"

"Nothing," Cecil said firmly, taking a drink.

"I'll give you more skittles," Carlos offered.

Cecil narrowed his eyes, "You drive a hard bargain..."

"I have a whole bag," Carlos pointed out

Cecil hesitated another moment before sighing, "Fine, I give. Certain higher level demons like myself...have the ability to transform into an animal, apart from what we naturally look like in our realm."

"And you're some kind of cat?" Carlos asked.

"Just...a cat," Cecil grumbled, drinking his hot chocolate again.

Carlos grinned, "Like a housecat?"

"Yes," Cecil groaned, "but it's totally unfair when you see what _other_ demons can turn in to."

"What do they turn into?" Carlos asked.

"Let's see...there's a wolf, eagle, shark, bear, tiger, lion..." he said the last one with a tone of utter hatred.

"Those don't seem as good," Carlos mused.

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "Do you know how many people the bear gets to maul? Can't do that as a cat," he ended with jealousy.

"Yeah, but you can't use any of the other ones for hiding," Carlos said, "a bear is kind of obvious, but you can get in anywhere as a cat."

Cecil pondered that, saying, "I guess," at length, finishing his drink and frowning into the empty mug.

"I'll refill it," Carlos said, standing.

"I swear if this is another bribe..." Cecil warned, but handed him the mug anyway.

"Bribe for what?" Carlos asked, heading to the kitchen to make more hot chocolate.

"Um...nothing," Cecil said, not wanting to give Carlos the idea of bribing him into seeing his cat form.

"Mhmm," he mumbled, stirring more mix into the still-hot water and bringing back the mug.

"Thank you," Cecil said again, figuring Carlos hadn't quite dropped the cat thing.

Carlos sat on the cushion again, asking, "How long do you want to stay?"

Cecil hummed in thought, "That depends. How many mugs of hot chocolate are you willing to make me?" he grinned.

Carlos chuckled, "Well, you could just take the can of mix..."

"I would, if I wasn't afraid of something happening to it in the demon realm."

"Is there a way for you to ask to be summoned?" Carlos asked.

Cecil blinked in surprised, "Not that I know of, but...you'd summon me just to make me hot chocolate?"

"Sure," Carlos shrugged, "I don't see why not, it's not super hard."

Cecil blinked again, saying, "Oh," softly and taking a drink.

"Besides, you make good company," Carlos added.

Cecil narrowed his eyes again, "You are definitely the strangest human I've ever met," as he shook his head.

"I get that a lot," Carlos chuckled, "out of curiosity, do you ever get full?"

"Not really, why?" Cecil asked, taking a drink.

"I was wondering. Do you get hungry?"

"We don't have to eat as often as humans, but yeah, we will starve eventually if we don't eat."

"But you're never full," Carlos said, thinking.

"We use a lot of energy, and it's spent quickly depending on what we do," Cecil explained. "For example, manifesting my tentacles costs a certain amount of energy, but the more I use them the easier it is, thus the less energy they take to control."

"Oh," Carlos said, considering this, "and you're a sort-of vegetarian"

"In your terms, yes. I'm one of the few demons who hasn't eaten anyone who has failed to summon them properly."

"Oh," Carlos mumbled, scrubbing his hand through his hair.

Cecil chuckled, "Get used to it, you novice summoner you," with a smirk, taking a sip before he froze when he heard the door opening. Carlos froze in the position of starting to get up, realizing to his dismay that it was indeed Steve in the doorway.


	7. Crime and Punishment

Steve stood stock still for a moment, glancing between the two with an expression of shock.

Cecil stared back, blinking, but not exactly in fear, saying, "It was Carlos' idea."

Carlos blinked, trying, "It started as an accident?"

Steve snapped out of it with a grimace, shortly turning into a seething glare as he held a hand out towards Cecil, Cecil hopping into a stand quickly, but not having enough time before he felt a searing pain rip through him. His tentacles writhed, taking a step back as he hunched inward instinctively with a screeching noise of agony.

Carlos stopped again, having started forwards, and saying, "Wait, don’t..." with panic.

"Stand back, Carlos," Steve growled, not even looking at his apprentice as his open hand shut into a fist, bringing Cecil to his knees.

Through the pained sounds, Cecil grit out the word, "Carlos..." in a borderline beg, not able to fully speak his wish to be dismissed.

Carlos was looking between them, not sure who to head towards and after a second realizing that he could probably send Cecil back, saying, "Raxos. Ralos? Ralom... ralon?" his panic making him forget the word.

Cecil sighed as he felt himself being pulled back, not having the spirit for a thank you but giving Carlos a worried look as he faded out. Steve watched the spot a moment before reeling on Carlos, saying, "You fool! Have you no idea what you could've caused?"

"Not... really?" Carlos admitted, glancing away from him.

"You're lucky, if you were anyone else's apprentice you'd no longer be their student!" Steve shouted.

"Well, I mean, nothing really happened," Carlos mumbled.

"That doesn't matter, Carlos," Steve said, his anger fading to be replaced by a tone of exasperation, "he could have killed you! I admire your ambition, but taking a risk like _that_ at a time like _this_?"

"He didn't even try to hurt me," Carlos mumbled, "he didn't seem all that threatening."

"Of course he didn't, that's what demons _do_!" Steve snapped. "Especially against someone so inexperienced. He probably just wanted to learn about you and gain your trust before killing you so he could come after me, and then the rest of the bloody town!"

"I don't..." Carlos frowned, deciding it'd be pointless and sighing, "I guess you're right."

"I'm sorry to say that whatever he's been telling you has probably been lies," Steve scolded. "I've been in this business longer than you, and I've heard of far too many accidents happening through incompetent mistakes like this one."

"Ok," Carlos mumbled, "you're probably right."

"To drive the point home, I'm forbidding you from coming in here again until such time as I think you're ready to summon demons responsibly," Steve frowned.

Carlos frowned, mumbling, "Ok," and going over to collect the hot chocolate mugs.

Steve watched him, sighing, "I'm sorry Carlos, but I won't risk your death while you're under my leadership." Carlos nodded, setting the cups in the sink and filling them with water. Steve shook his head, sighing, "When you're done with that, get some rest," before leaving the room.

Carlos finished washing the cups slowly, heading up to his room once they were dried and set away to study from his books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carlos spent the next week slowly collecting supplies, trying to seem decently regretful of summoning Cecil while grabbing pieces of chalk whenever he could and snagging a few other choice ingredients. He drew another pentagram at midnight on his bedroom floor, his room filled with candles, hot chocolate, skittles, and salt just in case Cecil tried to go after Carlsburg. Carlos took a deep breath, saying the incantation over the pentagram as carefully as he could.

When Cecil appeared, he was sitting down, a bottle of a dark sludge looking substance in his hand, his other hand holding his head. His eyes were almost sunken, and he appeared sleep deprived, though Carlos wasn't sure whether demons actually slept. Cecil looked up in worry, afraid Steve had summoned him and flinched back, using a hand to protect his chest. He blinked, his gaze turning to surprise as they focused on the young apprentice. He said, "Carlos," with an unexpected tone of tired concern, though Carlos could hear the relief in it as well, leaving Carlos with one question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mwahaha more cliffhangers *sinks into darkness cackling* btw if you got the ref, you get 20 points and my love <3


	8. Drinking to Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i need to stop being so nice and posting chapters so quickly XD lucky bastards, you. speaking of, thanks for taking time to leave comments, we love hearing from all of you! i'll try to respond to new comments as fast as possible, and questions are welcome too :P

"Are you alright?" Carlos asked, glancing to the black sludge and looking him over.

Cecil frowned, glancing away and saying, "Fine, as things go. What about you?"

"I'm fine," Carlos said, "he's just mad at me and I’m not allowed to summon you. Are you actually alright?"

Cecil said, "Uhm..." as a tentacle took the bottle and hid it, "yes?"

"What was that?" Carlos sighed, resting his head on his hand.

"It's..." Cecil said, struggling to come up with an excuse and sighing at length, admitting, "alcohol, more or less."

"Oh," Carlos frowned, looking at the bottle with distaste, "you can get drunk? And why are you drinking?"

"Everything can get drunk," Cecil grumbled, taking the bottle back, "and I don't know, maybe it's because I was afraid of exactly what you told me."

"Afraid of what?" Carlos asked, standing and grabbing the quilt off his bed.

"That...you wouldn't be able to summon me again," Cecil frowned, glancing away. "I was afraid of losing the one person who makes this realm interesting."

Carlos frowned, wrapping the blanket around Cecil's shoulders, "Don't worry, I'm always going to be able to find a way to summon you."

Cecil looked at him with tired eyes, studying him a moment before he stood and gave Carlos a hug. This was the last thing Carlos was expecting, so his reaction was merely to blink for a moment, realizing that this was the first time Cecil had actually touched him and noting a faint feeling of electric static. Then he forgot about the science, simply hugging him back.

Cecil also seemed to realized what he was doing, letting go and taking a step back, saying, "Uhm...I've been told I get a bit...emotional when I drink, so..."

"That's alright. Do you want to sit on my bed? It'd be more comfortable."

"I...guess so," Cecil said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the mattress.

Carlos climbed up next to him, making sure the blanket was properly around him and settling down, "I didn't really have a reason to summon you other than to make sure you were okay."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Cecil grinned tiredly, his tattoos unraveling and one curling around Carlos' side. Cecil didn't seem to take note, only took another drink of the sludge.

Carlos didn't mind, in fact starting to pet the shadowy tentacle before asking, "Do you... have to drink that?"

"I'd hate to waste it," Cecil said, "it's the high quality kind."

"Can you just not drink it, right now?" Carlos asked, sitting cross-legged.

Cecil gave him a confused look, asking, "Why not?"

"I don't really like people drinking," Carlos mumbled, "my mom and uncles did a lot."

Cecil frowned, "Ah, sorry," as a tentacle took the bottle and set it aside.

"It's ok," he sighed, "though out of curiosity, how much did you drink?"

"How long has it been your time?" Cecil asked first.

"About a week," Carlos said, "why?"

Cecil rubbed his neck, doing some slow mental calculations and replying, "In your time, maybe...three to five bottles a day?" shyly, his tentacle flinching back as though expecting some sort of reprimanding.

Carlos frowned, "How strong is that stuff?"

"Uuhhmm, stronger than human alcohol, that's for sure. How strong is your strongest kind?"

"Really... nevermind," Carlos mumbled, "you really shouldn't drink that much."

"It doesn't have such a harmful affect on demons, if it's any consolation."

"Not that much," Carlos sighed, "nevermind."

"So, um...I guess if you only wanted to check on me, I don't really have to stick around, huh...?"

"I'll let you go if you want to, but you can stay if you want, too."

Cecil frowned, "But...the only way I'd be able to stay without risking Steve finding me..." Carlos tilted his head, not really sure where he was going with this--he had struggled to stay up until midnight in the first place. Cecil sighed, "I'd have to be in my cat form."

"You can, if you want to."

Cecil groaned in thought, grumbling, "Fine, but don't make fun."

"I won't," Carlos promised, leaning back in case he needed room.

Cecil rolled his eyes, giving it a little more thought before he started shrinking, his tentacles seeming to form an orb around him before they melted away, revealing a long-haired black cat with purple irises. His tentacles seemed to be multiple tails at first, but as his transformation finished, they twined together into a fluffy tail.

Carlos grinned, looking over his form and saying, "That's brilliant," as he pet Cecil's back.

Cecil purred, back arching automatically as he said, "You'd be the first to think so," in his normal voice.

"Really?" Carlos chuckled, "I'm impressed you can speak normally in this form."

"You think I'd reduce myself to meowing?" Cecil asked, his tail curling around Carlos' wrist when his hand traveled down his back again.

"Well, no, probably not," Carlos said, scratching behind his ear.

Cecil tilted his head and purred more, kneading the mattress and sitting on his haunches as he said, "Before you point it out, I can't help the purring," as he continued stretching his head into Carlos' palm.

"I like it," Carlos chuckled, suppressing a yawn.

"Sure," Cecil grumped, "if cute and cuddly are two words you'd use to describe a demon."

"I'd call _you_ that," Carlos said, rubbing his back and setting his glasses on the nightstand.

Cecil growled and mumbled, "Don't push it, and that makes me feel _so_ much better about staying," as his tail flicked in content, giving away his actual emotions regarding the situation.

Carlos grinned, rubbing his back, "I can't help it if I think you're cute in general."

Cecil's fur ruffled at that, huffing, "I'm not _cute_ ," as his current feline form wasn't doing much to support him.

"I think you can be cute and terrifying," Carlos yawned.

Cecil frowned, muttering, "I guess I can live with that," as he sat down and curled into a ball by Carlos' hand.

"Trust me, you can be terrifying too," Carlos said, laying down and rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil purred, his paws still making a kneading motion as he replied, "You know, I try."

"I did notice," Carlos yawned.

"Right, well," Cecil said awkwardly, mumbling, "goodnight," in a tone that felt like the word belonged to him.

"'Night," Carlos yawned, "I'm glad you're alright."

"You, too," Cecil said, tucking his nose under his paws and drifting to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehehe oh demon kitty cecil is gonna be fun to write


	9. When the Morning Comes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, not much is happening. but oh how the suspense builds :D i promise you all the pace does pick up, but for now enjoy more carlos/cecil bonding time

Carlos woke up the next morning flat on his back, realizing after a moment the blanket seemed far heavier and warmer than usual. He realized there was hair just under his chin and arms wrapped around him and that Cecil was no longer a cat, instead a human with cat ears that was flopped completely on top of him.

Cecil still had a long, fluffy tail, which had curled itself around Carlos' leg. He was passed out from being drunk, which was about the only time any demon truly slept, so he was moving about as much as a brick. He breathed with mostly utter silence, broken only by a quiet purr once in awhile.

Carlos blinked, realizing that Cecil's shirt was no longer with them and wondering where it had gone. He then tapped Cecil's side, mumbling, "Hey, morning."

Cecil yawned, mumbling, "Monin'," mostly incomprehensibly. Thankfully, his pants were still on, but he didn't seem to fully grasp the situation and only tightened his grip around the scientist.

"Uh," Carlos said, "hi?" Cecil only purred, nuzzling against Carlos' chest and somewhat rolling over to lie on his side, thinking he was still in his cat form. "So," Carlos said, "why... do you have pants but no shirt?"

"Whad'you mean?" Cecil mumbled, still dead tired as his tail curled up and down lazily as the rest of him stayed stone still.

"You're not wearing a shirt?" Carlos said, "but you still have pants."

Cecil blinked his eyes open slowly, yawning again and flipping back to his stomach, leaving his hands on Carlos' chest and arching his back upward, tail stretching out as he glanced to himself, eyes narrowing as he mumbled, "That's odd--oooh..." His eyes widened slightly when he realized he didn't have fur, instantly leaning up off him, his tattoos writhing back as he said, "By the void," in a tone of horror.

"Morning," Carlos said, sitting up, "the shirt thing? Did it disintegrate or is it still gone because you have a tail?"

Cecil blinked, frozen in his leaning back position of waiting for a punishment, saying, "Um...when I'm sleeping, if I unconsciously transform, it...probably only makes what clothes I'd be dreaming about at the time. I generally don't wear a shirt on this plane anyway, so..."

"Ah, that makes more sense," Carlos said, sitting back a bit and stretching.

Cecil said, "Uhm...you're not...mad or anything?" with a confused look, only barely relaxing.

"No, not really," Carlos yawned.

"Oh, well then...good morning," Cecil said, his tenseness leaving his shoulders a little at a time. "I...probably shouldn't stay long, unless you want Steve to catch me here."

"I suppose that's true," Carlos frowned, "he probably wouldn't be really happy about that."

"Probably not, no," Cecil frowned. "I mean...I guess I could just switch back to cat form, but...I'd need a cover name."

"Uh," Carlos said, "do you have a preference?"

Cecil shrugged, "Also depends on if you want me around, I suppose. And...I can't stay too long, or I'll miss a lot back home."

"Oh, right," Carlos mumbled, "well, I wouldn't mind you staying, but it's up to you."

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "I don't see a problem with sticking around until my hangover is gone. You might have to sneak me some coffee, though."

"That's fine," Carlos chuckled shifting to stand.

Cecil shifted back into a cat, saying, "It might be best to pretend you found me last night or something. And I really do need a name."

"Uh," Carlos said, "Khoshekh? It was the name of my cat growing up."

Cecil made a 'not bad' expression, saying, "Actually, I like it. Sounds like a demon term."

"Suspiciously so?" Carlos asked, pulling his shirt over his head.

"A little," Cecil said, tail curling around his feet as he attempted not to observe Carlos and failed.

"Hmm," Carlos said, "we can pick something else if you want." He shuffled around his dresser for a clean shirt.

Cecil's gaze roamed over Carlos' back before he tore his eyes away, forcing his expression into a neutral one and saying, "No, I like it," as he studied Carlos' window.

"That'll work, then," Carlos said pulling a new shirt on.

Cecil's expression flashed to one of irritancy for a split second before he regained himself, nodding and saying, "Alright," before hopping off the bed.

"Breakfast is usually around seven thirty," Carlos said, rummaging for a new pair of pants and pulling his sweatpants off.

Cecil glanced over, his pupils dilating for a fraction of a second before he slowly looked away, stretching his paws out in front of himself and arching his back down, tail curling towards his back in the classic cat pose as he sighed, "Time doesn't mean all that much to me. I'll just follow you around."

"After breakfast I usually clean the kitchen and then start prepping ingredients," Carlos said, hopping on one leg trying to get his jeans on.

Cecil watched with amusement out of the corner of his eye, saying, "Whatever, I have to play innocent kitty."

"Basically," Carlos said, finally getting his leg in his pants, "and he'd be more likely to let me keep you if you don’t try to bite him."

Cecil sighed, "No promises," as his tail flicked in annoyance.

"Come on," Carlos said, ruffling a hand through his hair before picking Cecil up. Cecil made a surprised 'mur' and wriggled, giving up without much of a struggle and curling up comfortably, crossing his paws over each other and looking regal. Carlos chuckled, rubbing his back as he headed out to the kitchen, mentally preparing to brave a confrontation with Steve.


	10. Can I Keep Him?

Cecil purred, his eyes half-shutting in ecstasy as his tail swung back and forth, saying, "Can I at least pee on Steve's pillow?"

"No," Carlos sighed, heading to the kitchen to make coffee.

Cecil groaned, "You're not gonna let me do anything as a cat except look cute, are you?" as he sat on the ground by Carlos' feet so he could use his hands to cook.

"You look cute in human form, too," Carlos mumbled, grabbing cream.

Cecil's fur puffed out slightly, glancing off to the side and not sure how to respond to that, saying, "Hm, guess I ended up with a fortunate guise in this realm. By the way, add a lot of sugar," as he looked back up to watch Carlos prepare their drinks. Carlos dumped half a cup of sugar into Cecil's coffee, adding none to his own and putting cream in both. Cecil purred, his eyes making the usual wide cat expression for anticipation. He tilted his head to the side, his ears rotating like radars and saying, "Damn it, Steve's coming," quietly.

Carlos hid the second coffee in a cabinet, sipping his own and acting casual. Cecil stayed planted by Carlos' side, meowing impatiently up at him as a cat would as Steve entered the room. Steve paused, asking, "Did I just hear a cat meow?"

"I adopted a cat last night?" Carlos said. "It followed me home."

Steve raised a brow, moving around the table to observe the cat, who stared intently back at him. Steve asked, "And you just let it waltz into the house? Are you sure it's not someone else's?"

"Well, he doesn’t have a collar or anything," Carlos said, "he seemed friendly."

Steve frowned, keeping a distance from it and saying, "Either way, he shouldn't stay here. He'll get in the way of your duties as my apprentice."

"I promise he won't," Carlos said, "it's not like it's a puppy, it's just a cat."

Steve frowned, "I'd still make sure he's no one else's first, and even then, I don't exactly want him staying," as he looked back to the cat, who walked over to rub on Carlos' leg.

"I'll keep him out of the way?" Carlos begged.

Steve said, "No Carlos, you don't quite understand. If he stays, you'll have to make very sure to clean up after him, fur especially. I'm...allergic to cats," he grimaced. The cat's expression, however, turned into what could only be described as an evil grin.

"I'll vacuum and stuff," Carlos said, not liking Steve's expression.

Steve hooked his hands through his hair, rubbing them down his neck and groaning, "Fine, fine. You can keep him for the time being, but you'd better prove you can take care of him."

Carlos nodded violently, waiting for Steve to walk away before retrieving Cecil's coffee and setting it on the floor.

They heard Steve saying, "Meet me in the greenhouse in thirty minutes," as Cecil waited another moment, saying, "Thanks," as he lay down to start lapping up the coffee.

"No problem," Carlos chuckled, rubbing his back and sitting on the kitchen floor to drink his coffee.

Cecil purred louder, his tail swishing across the floor as his whiskers tilted back to avoid getting dipped in the coffee. Cecil paused to say, "Well, that went better than expected."

"It did," Carlos said, "you're not allowed to try to mess with his allergies."

"Definitely no promises," Cecil grinned at him, turning back to his coffee. He drank a bit more and licked his lips, saying, "I suppose...far as today goes, after my coffee, just...send me back and call me tomorrow."

"If you're sure," Carlos said, rubbing his back.

Cecil hummed in thought, saying, "If you don't send me back I'll end up tearing Steve's furniture to bits and leaving him presents all over the house."

"Yeah, you're going to have to go back after your coffee," Carlos said.

Cecil chuckled, "I figured as much," before going back to his drink.

Carlos sighed, rubbing his back and saying, "It was nice seeing you."

Cecil said, "It was. Your mattress was comfortable," he added with a bit of a smirk.

"You were on top of me the most of the time," Carlos pointed out.

Cecil cleared his throat, saying, "Mattress, body, same thing to a cat."

"Mhm," Carlos said, finishing his coffee, "do you want eggs?"

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "Vegetarian. Besides, most of the food here isn't all that appealing to me."

"All right, thought I’d offer," Carlos said, standing to put his mug in the sink

"I appreciate it," Cecil said, continuing his coffee and eventually licking the remnants off the bottom of the mug.

"You sure you're ok with being summoned tomorrow?" Carlos asked.

Cecil said, "It won't feel like I was home long, but it'll give me time to explain I might be missing a lot. Plus, if I'm your new cat, I'd _hate_ to let Steve think I ran away." Carlos chuckled, scratching behind his ears. Cecil tilted his head, purring once more and saying, "And, you know, this is nice. Never thought I'd hear myself say it, but...for once, hanging around a human isn't annoying."

"I try," Carlos said, slipping a pack of skittles in front of him and saying, "I got those just in case."

Cecil grinned, nuzzling Carlos' hand while saying, "You're a good person," as he used a clawed paw to drag the bag closer to himself.

"I think you're saying that for the candy," Carlos chuckled.

"Maybe," Cecil said. "Have fun dealing with whatever mundane potion Carlsburg has you working on."

"I'm sure it'll be enthralling," Carlos said, patting his back.

"Hm," Cecil hummed in pity. "Be seeing you."

"Nice seeing you," Carlos said. He paused and added, "Please don't go drinking again."

"I've no reason to," Cecil said, tail curling around his feet.

"Good," Carlos said, "see you. Ralon." Cecil made sure to hook the bag of skittles, nodding to Carlos before fading away.


	11. Surprises

Carlos spent the rest of the day doing simple prep jobs for ingredients, at the end of the day Steve mentioning an event they had to go to. "It will be an important event, my young pupil," Steve said as he measured out a blood sample. "All the witches and wizards of Night Vale will be there. It will be your responsibility to simply tell them about your learning experience and not make me look like a fool," he grinned.

"I should be able to handle that," Carlos said. "What is the purpose of the event?"

Steve sighed, "It's an annual thing, actually. Everyone meets at Old Woman Josie's place--she's a very accomplished witch. We enjoy each other's company for a night, enjoy some drinks, share experiment stories and such..."

"Oh," Carlos said, "all right. Do we have to bring anything?"

"Nothing really, though everyone generally summons the strongest demon they can for the night," Steve shrugged. "I normally bring Cecil, actually," he watched Carlos carefully.

"Oh, ok," Carlos said, giving his best neutral reaction.

Steve looked back to his work, saying, "I wouldn't worry about the event too much, I think people will take to you."

"Ok," Carlos said, "am I supposed to wear something particular?"

Steve shrugged, "You can wear formal if you want, but it's not required. I recommend not going in casual, though."

Carlos asked, "I suppose there's food there and stuff?"

"Always excellent, if Josie makes it," Steve sighed wistfully. "Anyway, tomorrow is going to be a busy one for you. I recommend sleeping early tonight; a bit more manual labor will be required tomorrow."

Carlos nodded, saying, "Alright. anything else you need me to do?"

"Not for today, no," Steve said. "You've been a good help today. Where's that cat, by the way?" he asked with a bit more distaste.

"In some nook and cranny in my room," Carlos lied, "he likes all the boxes."

Steve sighed, "Of course he does, and so long as he's not in my room. I'll see you tomorrow, Carlos."

"See you," he said, heading to his room. He tried to stay up that night to wait to summon Cecil at midnight, but he fell asleep before he could and didn't wake until morning.

He awoke to Steve knocking on his door, saying, "Rise and shine, this new process needs to be done early and it will take a bit of a hike to gather the fresh ingredients."

Carlos called, "Right," frowning when he realized he hadn't managed to summon cecil and hoping he wasn't too worried.

"I'll give you time to eat a little but then report to the main entry," Steve instructed, the sound of his footsteps fading.

Carlos sighed, getting up and dressed and wolfing down some toast before throwing on his hiking shoes.

Steve told him the hike itself was about a thirty minute ride on horseback, and then an additional fifteen minute hike where there was a trail the horses couldn't maneuver. They were going up the base of a mountain to find a specific wildflower that grew in the rubble from landslides, and they needed the nectar from it. Carlos didn't particularly enjoy the hike, somewhat wishing cecil was with him to make it more interesting, or at least wishing the brambles were less dense and that he'd start noticing them sooner.

When they finally got there, Steve handed Carlos a small glass vial and told him it'd need to be at least three-fourths full, also handing him a syringe-like object to dip into the flower to draw the nectar. It took Carlos half an hour to collect enough nectar, and by then his back was killing him. He didn't fail to notice that Steve hardly collected any of his own, instead simply adding a few drops to the vial when he apparently felt like it.

Steve asked, "How's it going, Carlos?" as he found another apparently suitable flower and began sucking the nectar from it with his own needle.

"We're almost done," he said, measuring the liquid already in the vial.

"Very good," Steve said, removing the needle and roaming to look for another good flower. "Tell me when you're done and we can head out."

"Mm," Carlos mumbled, looking around and finding another few flowers.

Steve said, "I know this isn't the most exciting work, but the results should be well worth the effort."

"What is this for, again?" Carlos asked, finding another flower and depressing his needle into the vial.

Steve said, "It's the final stage of that love potion we've been making," as he bent down to observe another flower. "It's a delicate process, which can have drastic results if done wrong."

"Ah, right," Carlos said, "I think we have enough nectar."

"Good, good," Steve said, straightening and saying, "then we can start the trek home for lunch," with a grin.

"Lunch is good," Carlos said, handing him the vial.

"Thank you," Steve said, putting it in a sort of belt for holding vials safely along with his own, which was only about a quarter full. "Hopefully the horses stayed put."

"I tied them," Carlos said, starting back and immediately stepping into more brambles.

Steve chuckled, "Doesn't mean they'll always stay there. Odd things happen in Night Vale, you know. Anyway, time's a-wasting." They travelled home in a good forty minutes, as the horses had in fact stayed where they were and hadn't, as Steve put it, 'been taken by the giant masked warriors.' They got home just after noon, Carlos cursing under his breath as it was too late to summon cecil by then.

Steve helped make lunch, which consisted of some lunch meat sandwiches and salads. Steve said, "Actually, Carlos, if you want to go into town today or tomorrow, I could give you some money to buy an outfit for the party if you want a new one."

"I don't know if I have anything much better than a button-up shirt," Carlos admitted, "never needed one."

Steve said, "Then I'll loan you some money to get yourself something nice. Call it a treat from me for being a fantastic helper."

"Thank you," Carlos said, wondering if he could bring cecil with him.

"You can take a break for an hour or two and catch up on reading or something if you want," Steve said. "I'll settle the nectar for the potion. I imagine you've smelled enough of it for today," he chuckled.

"Thank you again," Carlos said, clearing and cleaning his dishes before heading to his room, a bit frustrated that it was nowhere near a time he could summon cecil.

He forced himself to wait patiently, working through a few more of Steve's menial tasks before asking to take another break after an early dinner. By the time the sun was setting he'd finished all his chores, casting the summoning spell as soon as he could.

Cecil appeared in a human guise, once again in case it was Steve, sighing, "Ah, it _is_ you. I knew it wouldn't take long, but it still felt like awhile. What time is it?"

"Sunset," Carlos said, "sorry, he kept my busy all day."

Cecil sighed, "Of course he did. So, what sort of work did he have you working on today?" he asked, his tattoos folding into a seat.

"Collecting nectar and prepping more ingredients," Carlos sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Ingredients for what?" Cecil asked, a tentacle casually grabbing a stray bag of skittles Carlos left lying around, another scraping up the sugar on the pentagram.

"That love potion he's still working on," Carlos sighed.

Cecil opened the candy and ate a few, saying, "Huh, thought it'd be about the necromancy," as though it weren't an issue, chewing contently.

"About what now?" Carlos blinked, staring at him.

Cecil paused, saying, "Oohh, you didn't know about that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you knew that steve was evil clap your hands *clap clap*  
> but really who saw that one coming? :D told you it'd get interesting


	12. Looking for Clues

" _No_ I didn't know he was practicing necromancy!" Carlos snapped. "Why is he doing that?!"

Cecil leaned away from Carlos at the sudden change in tone, saying, "Hell if I know, I thought you'd be aware of it! I smell that damn dark magic every time I come here."

"I can't smell dark magic," Carlos said in exasperation, "I wouldn't have wanted to be his student if I knew he was practicing necromancy."

Cecil said, "I don't know what it's for, mind you, or how often he does it. Maybe you should stay and try to find evidence on it. I know the other wizards wouldn't appreciate knowing that little secret, much."

Carlos frowned, thinking about it for a moment and hating to have so little choice before sighing, "Fine."

Cecil nodded, saying, "So, I suppose if I'm gonna hang around again, I should turn into a cat. That's going to get annoying quickly."

"I'm sure you'll manage," Carlos said, ruffling his hair, "and by the way, Steve said we're going to a party tomorrow?"

Cecil glared at him, saying, "One, never ruffle my hair like that, two, if we are, that means you'll have to remember to send me back before he summons me. Otherwise, seeing as I'm already in this realm, I won't show up when called."

"I'll keep that in mind," Carlos said, smoothing his hair back down.

Cecil sighed, batting Carlos' hand away and saying, "If you ruffle my hair in human form I'll have to teach you why it's a bad idea getting close to demons."

"Close in what way?" Carlos asked, rubbing the heel of his hand against his eye.

"Close in any way," Cecil admitted. "We're just...humans and demons have never exactly been compatible."

"Why not?" Carlos asked, scrubbing a hand through his own hair.

Cecil hesitated and said, "Conjurers have never seen demons they summon as beings of their own, I guess. Humans usually see us as animals to be used for their own purposes."

"Ok, but that's stupid," Carlos said, "so that doesn't count here."

Cecil snorted, "Touché. Still, it's just..." he frowned, glancing away. "Demons are more dangerous than you could comprehend. I'm still trying to figure out why you're freely choosing to spend time with one."

"Because I like your company," Carlos said. "I don't think you're going to hurt me."

"I might not mean to," Cecil frowned. He shook his head, saying, "Anyway, I imagine Steve wants to check up with you. If you like, I could start searching about for his necromancy set?"

"You'd have to be a cat," Carlos reminded him.

"I know," Cecil sighed. He ate another skittle before setting the bag on Carlos' nightstand, transforming and sitting on the bed next to Carlos. "Better?" he asked grudgingly.

"Yes," Carlos chuckled, petting along his back.

Cecil shut his eyes and purred, tilting his head up when Carlos rubbed it and saying, "You should stop petting me if we have places to be."

"It's sunset," Carlos reminded him, "you can explore, but I’m a bit tired."

Cecil sighed, "I'd have figured you'd be up for two more hours, but if you insist..."

"I can stay up," Carlos said, "but I don't have anything to do."

Cecil shrugged, "Sleep if you want. I'll be back here when I'm done exploring, I guess."

"Will I wake up with you shirtless on top of me again?" Carlos chuckled.

Cecil's ears lay back as he said, "No, the only time I sleep is when I'm drunk. Unless of course you'd enjoy waking up like that again."

"Well, I didn't mind, but it was a bit unexpected," Carlos said.

Cecil blinked, coughing quietly and saying, "Right, I'll...go look for..." before standing, shaking his head, the movement traveling down his body to his tail before jumping to the floor. Carlos grinned, changing into his pajamas while Cecil was gone and settling into his bed to read.

Cecil trotted about the house, carefully avoiding Steve when he heard him nearby. He used tentacles to open doors, coming across a few locked ones that didn't prove hard to open with a bit of corrosive saliva on the tip of a tentacle. However, for all his efforts, the stench of the black magic was too evenly spread throughout the house, making it difficult to pin down one location of where Steve would practice a forbidden art. Around midnight, he even sent out a pulse of magic energy (as he could afford it with the power surge coming with the time) and couldn't place anything, leading him to believe Steve put a magic concealment on it. He finally gave up, but not before leaving a hairball right outside Steve's bedroom door to step on. 

He trotted back cheerfully to Carlos' room, nudging the door open with his nose and immediately noting the young scientist asleep on the bed, light on and book covering his face. Cecil snorted, hopping up on the bed and studying him for a moment before using a few tentacles, one to grab the book and mark the page, another to turn off the light, and a third to tug the blanket higher over Carlos' body. That being done, he was prepared to scour the room for skittles when he felt Carlos stir.

Carlos shifted, mumbling something intelligent about sentient cheeses and rolling over. Cecil raised a brow, chuckling and thinking to himself 'wish I could record this' as he carefully moved to lie down by Carlos' feet with no intent of falling asleep. He figured it must have had something to do with listening to Carlos breathing that caused him to start dozing off as well, wondering how on earth he got mixed up with a human like this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor carlos. i can't wait for you guys to read about the party, it's gonna be awesome, i promise. in the meantime, mtn dew or coca-cola? or something completely different? what, i'm just curious


	13. Did You Say Shopping?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't get too excited, the shopping happens next chapter. and yes it's just as cute as usual, you'll see ;3

Carlos woke up with a human form of Cecil flopped sideways along his bed, trapping his legs and looking somewhat tangled in the sheets. He yawned, sitting up slowly and patting his back. Cecil hummed, tentacles unfurling from his skin to grab the blanket and adjust it around himself, grumbling, "One of these days if you wake me I'm gonna take your arm off."

"I thought you said demons don't sleep," Carlos said, noting that he again had a tail.

"We don't, usually," Cecil said with a yawn. "I blame you; your breathing was relaxing," he admitted tiredly.

"Can I at least make you more comfortable?" Carlos asked, as Cecil’s legs were hanging off the bed.

Cecil gave him a tired glare, turning into a cat and burrowing under the blanket, saying, "Yeah, lemme sleep another couple minutes."

"Fine," Carlos sighed, rubbing his back and standing, changing again for the day. Cecil heard the dresser drawer and may have cracked an eye open to watch Carlos change, shutting them again, yawning and acting cute and innocent as cats do when Carlos turned around. Carlos sighed, saying "by the way, the dinner thing's tonight and Steve wanted me to go buy new clothes for it."

Cecil opened his eyes at that, giving Carlos a curious look and saying, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don’t want to leave you alone in the house with him in the few hours it'd take me to find an outfit."

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "So what, you expect me to frolic about with you as a cat all day?"

"No, I could send you back," Carlos said.

Cecil shrugged, "Knowing you, you might need my help picking an outfit. I think I'd be safe in a human guise once I leave the house. As Carlsburg mentioned, humans are usually dense enough to believe a demon in a human guise is just as they are. Though if you'd feel better, I guess I could remain a cat."

"I don't know, cat as long as we're within twenty feet of this house," Carlos said, "but you don't have to go."

Cecil said, "I've got nothing else to do." He stood and stretched with his feet in front of himself again, tail curling upward before he straightened and shook his head. He said, "I hope you have more coffee."

"We do," Carlos said, picking him up carefully.

Cecil's tail curled beneath himself, settling comfortably and purring, "Excellent," as Carlos headed towards the kitchen.

Carlos prepared the coffees one handed, letting Cecil jump onto the counter and setting a super-sugared coffee in front of him. Cecil hummed in appreciation, lapping up the coffee as his tail swished in content, ears on the alert for Steve.

"Did you sleep well?" Carlos asked, scratching behind his ears as he sipped his own coffee

Cecil said, "Indeed. Demons rarely sleep, so when we do, it's basically like a rock."

"You weighed about as much, too," Carlos said.

Cecil gave him a look, ears laying back again as he said, "I can't help unconscious transformations. Usually that happens if I fall into a state of total relaxation. It takes energy to hold this compressed form."

"Again, it doesn't bother me," Carlos said, "if you're going to fall asleep, though, you'd better lie down so that you don't end up half off the bed."

Cecil looked a bit surprised, saying, "You don't really...seem bothered waking up with another guy in bed next to you."

"Well, no, normally I'd be very bothered, but I know you," Carlos said, ignoring his wording.

Cecil said, "Riiight, well," as his tail tightened around himself, casually drinking more coffee. Carlos cleared his throat, sipping his coffee and rubbing a hand through his hair. Cecil said, "Anyway, what sort've outfit do you need?"

"I don't know, he just said something a bit nicer," Carlos said.

Cecil looked annoyed, saying, "What, did he imply your outfits aren't nice enough?"

"Well, I don't really have anything that's fancy," Carlos said.

Cecil blinked slowly, saying, "No wonder you're bringing me. I happen to be known as a sort of fashionista in the demon realm."

"I didn't know demons have fashionistas," Carlos said.

"Sure we do," Cecil shrugged, "imagine your world, just with a lot warmer temperatures and a bit more blood and random acts of violence."

"Sounds a lot like summer," Carlos said, sipping his coffee again.

Cecil chuckled, "Perhaps. The point is I've given my fair share of fashion advice to the few demons who care about it."

"I'm sure you'll have plenty to say about the stores, then," Carlos said.

Cecil said, "No doubt. Let's hope they have something for you, or I might have to bring you something from home."

"I'm sure I'll find _something_ ," Carlos said. "Do you want breakfast?"

Cecil shook his head, ear twitching as he replied, "Not really, thanks."

"All right," Carlos sighed, "you mind if I make toast?"

Cecil said, "Go for it. I know you need to eat more than I do." He sat back from his coffee, tail curling around his feet and appearing to look like a fluffy statue with eyes. Carlos grinned, popping bread into the toaster and slowly opening a pack of skittles, pulling one out and throwing it. Cecil's head snapped to the skittle, pupils dilating from ellipses to circles before his muscles tensed and he stood, wriggling his butt before pouncing off the counter after it, landing both paws on it. His ears and whiskers perked forward as he ate it before he realized what just happened, his tail curling around his feet as his ears lay back and he grumbled, "Son of a..."

Carlos stood, his hands on the sides of his face as he whispered, "The butt wiggles."

Cecil's hackles raised as he snapped, "That was instinctual!" in defiance. "Not to mention completely set-up!" His fierce tone was being completely ruined by the fact he simply looked like an angry cat.

"I know," Carlos said, "calm down, I just thought it was cute."

Cecil's ears lay back, growling more to himself and looking away, glad his blush couldn't be seen through the fur. "I'm not cute," he grumbled, tail flicking in annoyance at his own actions.

"You're extremely cute," Carlos said, "you can be cute and lethal."

Cecil half-heartedly glared at him, saying, "You owe me so many skittles. _Not_ thrown ones," he clarified.

"We can stop at a grocery store on the way there," Carlos said, tossing another skittle anyways.

Rather than chase it, Cecil's tongue shot out of his mouth like a frog's and caught the skittle in the air, chewing it and saying, "You're pushing your luck."

"That was fascinating," Carlos said, crouching, "how did you do that?"

Cecil said, "Demons have the capability, as I'm sure you've noted, to switch out specific body parts between forms. So, for example, you've seen my human guise with cat ears, eyes, and a tail. In this case, my tongue when I'm in demon form happens to function like that."

"That's interesting," he mumbled, "is it like that all the time or does it shift with force of will?"

"Force of will," Cecil replied, licking his lips with a suddenly normal cat tongue.

"Cool," Carlos grinned, holding out the rest of the skittles.

"Thank you," Cecil said, grabbing the bag with a clawed paw and snuffling his nose around in the bag to fish out more candy. Carlos grinned, running a hand down his back a few times. Cecil purred, continuing to stuff his head into the bag, eventually his tail untwining into a few tentacles to help him open the bag wider to reach more of the skittles. He asked, "Shouldn't we be heading out?"

"Probably," Carlos said, "I think I need permission."

Cecil rolled his eyes, sighing, "I'll accompany you, if to unsettle Carlsburg more than anything," he smirked.

"Of course," Carlos sighed, standing and setting the mugs in the sink

Cecil said, "Could you hold the skittles for me? Cats don't have pockets, and I can't exactly wear pants unless you want Carlsburg to think you're cruel to animals."

Carlos chuckled, picking up the bag and asking, "Want me to carry you?"

Cecil hesitated, saying, "Alright," after a minute, standing on all fours. Carlos smiled, scooping him up and heading off to find Steve.


	14. I Think It's Suitable

Cecil curled up again, settling comfortably and purring, not able to help himself. They found Steve in the alchemy lab, presumably working on the love potion. He glanced over, saying, "Morning Carlos," and looking to the cat with a slight grimace.

"Morning," he said, "did you want me to leave to go get stuff early?"

Steve said, "You're welcome to go any time you like. I left some money for you by the front door."

"Oh, thanks," Carlos said, "I should probably leave early."

"If you want to," Steve said. He paused and asked, "Were you planning on bringing the cat?"

"I think so," Carlos said, hoping he wouldn't find it odd.

"By all means, get it out of the house," Steve said, waving a hand in dismissal. "I'll be here when you return."

Carlos nodded, bringing Cecil back by the front door. Cecil said, "I can walk if you get tired of holding me, you know."

"You can turn human once were far enough away," Carlos said.

"That, too," Cecil said as he left the house. Cecil looked about, saying, "It's been a long time since I've seen Night Vale from outside Carlsburg's house."

Carlos grinned, setting him down and starting down the street. Cecil trotted along beside him, glad there weren't many people about yet. He kept an eye out for a good spot to change, also giving looks to the few people who were actually out and about. "When you're a cat you can’t talk to people," Carlos reminded him

Cecil nodded, saying, "And you shouldn't talk to a cat like you're expecting an answer," with a smirk.

Carlos snorted, saying, "I'll have to keep that in mind."

"Help me watch for a place to change," Cecil said, eyes roaming about and meowing innocently when bystanders would pass.

"We could pop into an alleyway," Carlos said, pretending he was talking to himself.

Cecil saw one and nudged Carlos' leg, glancing in the direction of the alley. Carlos headed that way, glancing about just in case and finding no one watching them enter the alley. Cecil trotted in front of Carlos, glancing behind themselves and noticing no one had followed them. His head snapped back in front of himself when he heard movement, a haggard looking man in tattered, filthy clothing stepping out from behind a corner of a building and pointing a gun at Carlos, saying, "Here now, I don't want to hurt nobody. I just want whatever money you got on you."

Carlos backed up, raising his hands defensively and saying, "I don't have much."

"Gimme whatever you got on you," he said with impatience, right before Cecil strolled forward, turning into a human as he went and straightening the cuffs on his long-sleeve shirt, saying, "Excuse you," in a calm tone, the mugger looking dumbfounded before firing a bullet into Cecil's shoulder. Carlos swore, starting forwards and fully prepared to panic before he noticed that Cecil didn't seem too hurt.

Cecil glanced to his shoulder and back to the thug, saying, "Rude," before he slid his sleeves back and his tattoos manifested, one grabbing the gun and bending it in half as another shoved the thug back. Cecil strolled forward unfazed, saying, "Now I'm going to have stains on this shirt," with an irritated expression, grabbing the thug by the collar of his shirt and lifting him one handed.

"Don't kill him," Carlos said, caught between going forwards to help and backing away from angered tentacles.

Cecil glanced behind himself, saying, "But he threatened you," matter-of-factly, giving Carlos a confused expression as to why the thug still in his grip wasn't dead yet.

"I think he's just desperate," Carlos said, "it's alright."

"I'm s-sorry, I-I didn't..." the thug was stuttering, struggling fruitlessly against Cecil's hold.

Cecil looked back to him, saying, "You're not sorry or you wouldn't have shot me to begin with."

"What the hell are you?" the man asked, fear plain in his eyes.

"Don't worry yourself with that, just get out of here," Cecil growled, throwing him backwards, not hard enough to break any bones but enough to land the mugger on his back twenty feet away.

"He's just scared and desperate, Cecil," Carlos said, "if I really thought he would normally go threaten people, that's another story."

The mugger scrambled away as Cecil touched his wounded shoulder, his fingers full of a purple blood that made him sigh. "He doesn't need that much motive, it would seem."

"He was startled," Carlos said, inspecting his shoulder, "are you alright?"

"Guns don’t kill people; this'll be healed over in a manner of hours," Cecil shrugged. "Stings a little, sure, but nothing serious. I've certainly had worse."

"Well, yeah, but..." Carlos mumbled, not feeling the need to correct him on the guns statement, "you sure you're alright?"

Cecil nodded, "Yeah. I'll grab a new jacket and no one in the store has to see the ah...discolored blood," he said, a tentacle removing the jacket and moving through what appeared to be some form of rift, pulling a clean jacket through, along with a somewhat dirty cloth. Cecil layered the cloth between the wound and the new jacket to prevent the blood seeping through, saying, "There, good as new."

"Should you be doing that with a dirty rag?" Carlos asked.

Cecil rolled his eyes, patting Carlos' shoulder and saying, "Demon anatomy works a bit differently. I'll be fine, though I'm touched you care," he smirked, putting his other hand over his heart in mock drama.

"If you say so," Carlos frowned, "you want to go back?"

"Nah, we have an outfit to find," Cecil grinned. "C'mon, let's go and hope no more idiots try to mug you."

"All right," Carlos said, leading him out of the alleyway.

Cecil hooked his hands behind his back, strolling leisurely besides Carlos and not particularly enjoying the sun, asking, "Where are we stopping first?"

"I don't know, I haven't been clothes shopping here," Carlos said, "probably the first clothing store."

Cecil scanned around, frowning with disapproval at a normal clothing outlet and stopping Carlos from entering it. He said, "Ooh, how about that one?" he pointed to a store with headless mannequins modeling the suits.

"I don't know, it looks expensive,” Carlos frowned.

"That's the point," Cecil said, veering Carlos towards it. "I can pull a few demon tricks to get you discounts," he smirked.

"I don't know if that's entirely legal," Carlos said, letting himself be lead.

"Don't worry about it, I've done it once or twice before," Cecil said, a hand on Carlos' lower back to continue prodding him forward. "You wouldn't believe the amount of times I did it for a previous master."

"Ok..." Carlos muttered, opening the store door and becoming immediately unnerved with the higher-class environment.

Cecil was glad he had appeared in a nicer outfit, that being a long-sleeved, lilac shirt with a purple vest over the top to cover the wound. He was wearing a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a pair of black dress shoes, the ensemble accenting his thin form. He said, "I can see you in red and gray, maybe," as he rubbed his clean-shaven chin in thought, glancing around the store for an appropriate section.

"Uh," Carlos said, "whatever you think, I guess. I'm better at making potions than picking outfits."

Cecil grinned, "You're gonna regret letting me be in charge of this," as he lead Carlos, forgetting to remove his hand from his back and stopping in front of a rack of suits. 

An attendant passed by, saying, "If you need help with anything, you let me know, eh?" with a friendly smile and a light accent.

"Thank you," Carlos said, smiling at her.

Cecil said, "We'll be sure to let you know," in a sudden new tone, winking at her, making her blush and duck away to attend to other matters. Cecil flashed a smile, mumbling, "Still got it," to Carlos before panning through the rack.

Carlos raised a brow, asking, "What was that?"

"The first step in getting a discount," Cecil smirked, winking sideways at Carlos. He pulled out a suit and held it up next to the scientist, mumbling, "No, no, too dark," before putting it back and looking for a lighter gray.

"You flirt your way to discounts?" Carlos said, simply standing there apparently for Cecil’s reference.

"Nooo, magic is involved, too," Cecil said defensively, pulling another suit out and adding, "sometimes," in a quick, quiet undertone.

"Mhmm," Carlos mumbled, letting himself be measured to the suit, "I didn't know demons flirted with humans."

"Erm...not always, I mean," Cecil said awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "If we do, it's normally on request of our conjurer to trick someone or to weasel our way out of something. As things go, many of us appear more handsome or pretty than normal in a human guise. No one is really sure why; maybe it's a survival thing."

"It is odd," Carlos said, "it makes sense as an evolutionary thing."

Cecil snorted, "You should see how evolution works in the demon realm," quietly so no one would overhear it, nodding at a new suit and handing it to Carlos.

"I'd love to," Carlos said, taking the suit and folding it over his arm.

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "I wasn't serious. You shouldn't attempt going there."

"I can attempt to go there?" Carlos said grinning, "I didn't know it was possible."

Cecil covered his mouth with his hands, removing them and hissing, "I didn't say it was," as he started shooing Carlos towards a changing room.

"It must be possible somehow," Carlos grinned, "is there some form of reverse summon?"

"No, and if there was I wouldn't tell you," Cecil said, "now try on the suit."

Carlos sighed, entering one of the cubicles and peeling his t-shirt off. Cecil may have used heat vision to see through the curtain, casually looking back to the attendant from before and giving her a half-wave, fixing the wave in his hair and giving her a smirk. She quickly realized she was watching him more than working and snapped her head away from him, though he could see her smiling.

Carlos got himself into the suit, frowning at his reflection and saying, "I dunno, I think the shirt is too tight," as he opened the door.

Cecil looked back to him, both brows raising as he put a finger on his chin, saying, "No, they're supposed to be like that," as he couldn't help his eyes scanning the rest of Carlos.

"Are you sure?" he frowned, "the pants are tight, too."

Cecil chuckled, "Oh I know," before he recovered himself, snapping his eyes back to Carlos' face and clearing his throat, saying, "Yeah, right, um...yeah, it'll be a bit form-fitting, but it looks...pretty perfect, actually."

Carlos stared at him, glad his slightly darker complexion hid the red in his face as he said, "Are you sure? There must be some looser style."

Cecil rolled his eyes, sighing, "I'll _check_ if you really want," with a tone of disappointment, "but I also think you could live with it for one night."

Carlos sighed, saying, "Do I look stupid?"

"Nono, not at all," Cecil said with honesty. "It's really rather charming."

"Fine," Carlos said, "this is fine. It's not too expensive, is it?"

Cecil chuckled, "Not for long. Get dressed, I'll ring it up."

"All right," Carlos frowned, popping back into the changing room.

Cecil grabbed another suit of the same size and style, bringing it to the counter and saying, "I'll be taking this," in a sickeningly sweet tone to the male cashier, whose pupils dilated due to the magic undertone in Cecil's voice. Carlos changed, folding the suit over his arm and heading out to find Cecil.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" the cashier asked in a sort of dazed trance.

"Stay beautiful," Cecil winked, taking a bag to cover the suit with and expertly wrapping it as Carlos approached. "I do believe we're done here," Cecil said with a smug smile, the cashier still looking lost.

"Uh," Carlos said, glancing to him, "don't I have to... pay for the..."

"Taken care of," Cecil said, handing him the suit. "Didn't feel like flirting with the cashier," he said so the female attendant couldn't hear.

"I... ok," Carlos frowned, "I still feel a bit bad."

Cecil sighed, "You can leave him some money on the counter if you want. Or give the female a nice tip, I'm sure she'd appreciate it," he said loudly enough for her to hear, making her blush and turn away again. Carlos sighed, taking the money Steve had given him out of his pocket and setting it on the counter, saving out a few dollars as change.

Cecil said, "Right, that was easier than expected," as he started walking towards the door. "Anything else we need to cover?"

"I have an idea," Carlos grinned, taking his arm and tugging him to a grocery store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope we haven't been killing you all with overdoses of cuteness :3 and it only continues in the next chapter. weeeee!


	15. Brain Freeze

Cecil eyed Carlos' expression curiously but didn't resist being pulled along by the shorter man, easily keeping up with his pace with his longer strides and feeling his eyes widen when they entered the store. Carlos lead him straight to the candy isle, stopping at the start of the isle and letting go of Cecil’s arm.

Cecil felt his jaw dropping at the sight, asking, "How much money did you have spare?" and barely maintaining the focus needed to register the response.

Carlos chuckled, patting his back and saying, "I saved some of what Steve gave me, and I have some spare money. Go ahead."

Cecil bounced happily much like a small child would before going down the aisle, scanning through the multitude of candy and looking like he had found heaven and no one was about to convince him otherwise. Carlos grinned, leaning against one of the walls and watching him, wishing he could take a picture.

Cecil was already licking his lips in anticipation, resisting grabbing a bag of skittles as he knew Carlos had more at home. By the time he was done, he was holding an armful of assorted sugary goods, purring happily and saying, "This is the greatest place ever," as he approached Carlos.

"You realize it's open around the clock, right?" Carlos chuckled, leaning off the wall.

Cecil's eyes widened as his jaw dropped, saying, "Why haven't you mentioned this before?" in a tone of awe.

"I figured you knew," Carlos said, grabbing a basket for Cecil to put the candy in.

Cecil dropped the candy in, saying, "I don't spend time outside Carlsburg's house when I'm here, how was I to know? And you do know we're going to be making a lot more trips here now, right?"

"Yes," Carlos chuckled, "I just hope I have enough spare allowance."

Cecil flashed him a smile, giving him a hug and saying, "If you don't, I'll talk the cashier out of a few bucks. Come on," he tugged Carlos towards the registers.

"I meant for next time," Carlos chuckled, letting himself be pulled over and pulling some money out of his back pocket.

They left the store with a very happy Cecil, who had already broken open the bag of bite-sized snickers and began eating them with the wrappers still on. He said, "When we get home, I'll be feasting while Carlsburg lectures you about the party tonight."

"All right," Carlos chuckled, "we have one more stop before home."

"What's that?" Cecil said, rifling through the bag and pulling out a box of nerds, tearing a hole in the box and pouring some of the small candies into his mouth.

"Do you know what ice cream is?" Carlos asked, heading for a parlor.

Cecil narrowed his eyes at Carlos, saying, "It's ringing a bell," as he ate another snickers.

"I think you'll like it," he said, opening the door.

Cecil sniffed the air, liking the sweet scent and humming, "Mmm, this is promising, but it's a bit cold."

"Oh, I forgot about that," Carlos said, "here." He shrugged off his jacket, putting it over Cecil’s shoulders without thinking about it and heading off to the counter, ordering one butter pecan and one chocolate fudge.

Cecil blinked, glancing to the jacket and shrugging it on, purring at the fact it was warm from Carlos wearing it and sitting at a table for two. Carlos only had to wait a minute before returning to Cecil, handing him the chocolate cone.

Cecil licked his lips, taking the cone and not thinking the name of the product through as he took a very large bite, freezing and making a high pitched sound before unlatching his teeth and snatching his head back, narrowing his eyes in betrayal at the frozen dairy treat.

"You're supposed to... lick it," Carlos said, "or you get brain freeze."

Cecil licked his lips clean and said, "I found that one out a bit late, but thank you," as he took Carlos' advice and carefully licked a smaller section of the ice cream, humming at the flavor.

Carlos chuckled, licking his own cone and enjoying it, as he didn't eat ice cream often. Cecil started losing himself in the dessert, switching his tongue out for the longer one and wrapping it behind the ice cream, running it along the side and back into his mouth, smacking his lips quietly and doing a similar process to the other side of the cone.

Carlos watched him, saying, "You know humans can't do that, right?"

Cecil paused, slowly dragging his tongue back into his mouth and saying, "Ah, right. It's just _so good_ ," he purred, using his lips to suck off a larger portion of the ice cream.

Carlos chuckled, trying not to get distracted and saying "I’m glad you like it."

"I'm glad you brought me here," Cecil said, once again losing himself in the dessert and licking it with a normal tongue.

"Good," Carlos chuckled, focusing on his ice cream.

Cecil had to use his tongue to catch a spare drip, trailing his tongue back up the cone and getting near to eating the actual waffle cone. Luckily for Carlos’s mental well-being, he'd been focused on his own ice cream, and broke off a few pieces of cone to eat the ice cream with. Cecil didn't get the idea of eating the cone to help with reaching the ice cream, so was at a loss when his human tongue didn't quite reach the ice cream that had melted to the bottom. He frowned, making a distressed noise in the back of his throat like a disgruntled cat, using his demon tongue to reach.

"The cone is edible too," Carlos pointed out, as his was already half eaten.

Cecil blinked, glancing to Carlos' and saying, "I knew that," simply, slowly taking a bite of the cone.

"You've been eating candy wrappers, I figured you'd automatically eat the cone," Carlos said.

Cecil blinked again, asking, "Those were wrappers? Are those supposed to be inedible?" and hoping no one was listening in.

"Yes," Carlos sighed, "you're not supposed to eat the wrappers. They're plastic and they come off and I’m pretty sure they taste better without the wrapper."

"Oops," Cecil mumbled, crunching on more of the cone and finishing it within a couple large bites. He purred again, saying, "It was delicious, anyway."

"I'm glad," Carlos grinned, "I'll try to think of more things you might like."

"I'd appreciate that," Cecil said, purple irises glinting as he studied Carlos again, coughing and saying, "erm, we should...head back."

"We should," he agreed, standing and cleaning up the spot they were in.

Cecil helped clean up before grabbing his bag of candy and handing it to Carlos, moving behind the building to transform back into a cat, shortly running out as a small black dart towards Carlos' legs. Carlos paused, crouching down towards him and saying, "You've got..." as he used his thumb to wipe a spot of ice cream off Cecil’s nose.

Cecil's head flinched back naturally, blinking before licking the spot easily. He said, "You forget cat tongues are still more tactile than a human's."

"Well, I used my thumb, I didn't lick it off," Carlos grinned.

Cecil narrowed his eyes, shaking his head and meowing, as someone started walking by. He leaned up, putting his front paws on Carlos' knee and meowing again as if for attention. Carlos picked him up out of a quickly forming habit, carrying him the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes we can't help ourselves with these chapters. i swear when the party comes you'll all love it!!


	16. Before the Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> congratz to everyone who's put up with us this far in anticipation for the next chapter XD it'll be worth it, plus new character introssss :D

Cecil's tail swayed in content, immediately dropping and not moving as they entered Steve's house. Cecil frowned at the orange furniture, being the opposite of purple, and his ears tilted back in distaste. Carlos realized Cecil had transformed with his jacket and simply hoped Steve wouldn't notice, instead setting Cecil down and calling, "Back."

Steve replied, "Ah, there you are, I was beginning to wonder if you got lost in the store," with a chuckle from somewhere to their left.

"It took me a while to find an outfit," Carlos said, "i had an overeager store assistant try to help me."

Steve said, "Ahh, they can be most pestering. I hope he didn't trick you into spending too much?"

"No," Carlos said, "I got it at a reasonable price."

"Good, good," Steve responded, sounding somewhat distracted. Cecil pawed at Carlos, nudging the bag of candy with his nose.

Carlos cleared his throat, "Should I get changed now, or...?"

"The party doesn't start until six o'clock, so you've got some time to prepare," Steve said. "Don't feel rushed, I'm giving you a break from duties today."

"Thank you," Carlos said, heading upstairs. Cecil bounded up the stairs after him, tail high in the air as he meowed impatiently at Carlos to let him eat more of the candy. Carlos shut his door before handing him the candy, saying, "I guess we have all day."

Cecil said, "I guess so, but once again, it's a bad idea for me to stay that whole time in case he wants to summon me early to give me a talk about behavior," he rolled his eyes, pulling out some starbursts.

"I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said, sitting on his bed.

Cecil purred as he stuck his head into the bag to dig for more candy saying, "However, I think we can spare a few minutes for me to eat some of this."

"I'm sure you'll find a way," Carlos chuckled, petting his back. Cecil purred some more, rolling onto his back and nibbling at the end of a gummy rope. "Is there a kind of candy you didn't buy?" Carlos asked.

Cecil replied, "A few things didn't catch my interest, like licorice," he frowned, tail swishing back and forth as he remained on his back.

"That was a good choice," Carlos admitted, "licorice isn't the best."

"Hm, seems I have an eye for it," Cecil grinned, purring as he tore savagely at the gummy.

“You could be in human form if you wanted,” Carlos said.

Cecil said, "Is it worth the risk of Carlsburg catching me, or do you think he'll work to avoid this room since there's supposedly a cat living in it?"

"He'd avoid this room," Carlos said, "it's ok."

Cecil shrugged, transforming and staying on his back, happily nibbling at the gummy as he bent one leg up and crossed the other to rest on the bent knee. His long-sleeve shirt didn't come back, nor did his vest, leaving Carlos' jacket, which had shrunk with him as a cat and grown to fit him again. It was unzipped, showing the angry red patch of skin on Cecil's shoulder where he had been hit by the bullet. Carlos frowned at it, asking, "How long does that take to heal?"

Cecil glanced to it, saying, "Hm, not much longer now. Sugar helps," he added, finishing the gummy and taking out a Butterfinger.

"I'm sure," Carlos chuckled, patting his shoulder.

Cecil purred in content, sighing, "I guess I should probably save some of this for later," with a pout.

"Probably" Carlos chuckled, rubbing his shoulder.

Cecil glanced to Carlos' hand but didn't shy away from it, instead wrapping up the larger bags of candy and putting them away, saying, "So, guess I'll be seeing you tonight?"

"I guess so," Carlos said, "I don't know how long the party will last."

Cecil shrugged, "Usually about four to five hours, depending on how social they're feeling."

"Sounds fun," Carlos sighed.

Cecil hummed, "Mmhm, if you'd classify tipsy wizards arguing about who has the more expensive outfit as fun," he smirked.

"Oh that's fantastic," Carlos sighed. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Cecil's smirk disappeared when he recalled Carlos' issue with drinking, frowning, "Right, sorry. They don't get too drunk at these things, don't worry."

"Right,” Carlos sighed, "when do you want to go back?”

"Might as well get it over with now, though helping you dress up would've been fun," he smirked.

"I just have to put the clothes on?" Carlos said.

Cecil said, "I know, but accessories never hurt at these parties. Anyway, I should go..."

"Sure," Carlos said, not really sure what he meant by accessories.

Cecil sat up slowly, saying, "Guard my candy for me," with a somewhat sad smile.

"I'll do my best," Carlos chuckled, patting his back, "ralon."

~~~~~~~

Around five o'clock, Steve found Carlos getting ready and said, "I have to summon Cecil so he has a bit of time to mentally prepare for this. He's never enjoyed these get-togethers, particularly not with the other demons around."

"Ok," Carlos said, a collection of starbursts hidden in his pocket just in case.

"Did you want to come with me, or do you still have to prepare?" Steve asked.

"I think I'm good?" Carlos said, glancing over himself.

"Very good, you look dashing," Steve said, gesturing for Carlos to follow him to the summoning room.

"Uh, ok," Carlos said, trailing him.

Steve said, "I trust you're not nervous about tonight," as they went. "There's nothing to be too worried about."

"I just am not used to these kinds of events," Carlos said.

Steve said, "If you remain my apprentice, you won't be going to them often. These events occur maybe three times a year at most."

"All right," Carlos said, "should I get salt?"

Steve said, "I already have it. And believe me, everyone at the party will have their own salts as well, so only bring some if you'd feel more comfortable."

"For the summoning," Carlos clarified, though he didn't like the idea of everyone having salt.

Steve said, "Ah, right, sure," waving a hand dismissively as he opened the door to the summoning hall. Carlos frowned again, realizing that Cecil would have to step over it somehow and retrieving it anyways. "Tell me when the pentagram is ready; I'll be able to release him from it with a command," Steve clarified. Carlos nodded, setting up the pentagram and lining it with salt. 

Steve rubbed his hands together, beginning the incantation, which lasted a lot longer seeing as he used all the normal constraints that Carlos had been neglecting to use. Cecil stepped into view with a bored expression, arms crossed and shirtless, saying, "Wonderful to see you again," with heavy sarcasm. Carlos resisted the impulse to smile at him, glancing pointedly at the salt as a warning.

Cecil glanced to him but looked back to Steve as Steve said, "I'm sure you're enthralled. As a warning, we have a party to be at in an hour at Josie's place."

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "Gonna try to get in Lauren's pants again?"

Steve gave him a firm look and said, "One more word about Lauren and you'll be sent back to your hole of a realm blind with missing limbs."

Carlos frowned at Steve, able to do so as he was standing behind him and the man couldn't see his expressions. Cecil said, "I'll keep it in mind. Will I be going in my human form?"

"Or your demon form, I don't care," Steve said, "but you'll be putting on a shirt before we go."

"Riiight," Cecil sighed, his tentacles seeming to reach through a rift in the air and pulling through a similar long-sleeve shirt and vest combination, pulling it on. Carlos studied the cabinet to avoid watching, taking a newfound interest in the fascinating door handles. Cecil tucked the shirt into his pants, leaving the vest loose and saying, "Better?"

"Quite, no one needs to see that," Steve said with disapproval, Cecil giving a small smirk to Carlos. Carlos gave him a look, twiddling his thumbs behind his back.

Steve said, "Now that we're all prepared, I'll unbind you from the pentagram, assuming you're going to behave," he gave Cecil a firm look.

"Yes yes, on my hearts," Cecil said, using two fingers to make two X's across the spot of his chest where a usual heart would be. Carlos raised a brow, deciding to ask about that later and stepping back out of habit.

Steve nodded, chanting some other foreign words and waving a hand, Cecil becoming free of the pentagram. He stepped through, fixing his cuffs and saying, "I assume you want to put a leash on me as well?" with a smirk.

"Don't tempt me," Steve warned, leading the way out.

Carlos grinned at him as he passed, stopping himself from falling in step with Cecil. Cecil put his hands behind his back as he followed Steve, asking, "Is there a reason you summoned me an hour early?"

"Partially so you and Carlos can get acquainted. After the incident of Carlos summoning you, I want him to understand exactly what he attempted," Steve said.

Cecil turned his head slowly to Carlos, saying, "Works for me," with an evil grin.

Carlos raised a brow at him, "Acquainted in what way?"

Steve said, "I just want you to see what Cecil is, so, Cecil, if you'd indulge me and show him your demon form?"

Cecil groaned, "But that takes effort to hold on this plane!"

"Cecil," Steve snapped, glaring over his shoulder before continuing to walk forward towards the living room. Carlos raised a brow again, following them into the living room.

Cecil frowned, asking, "Can't this wait until after the party?"

"No, seeing as he's going to be seeing a lot of demons at this party and I don't want him trying to converse with them, too," Steve said. Carlos frowned again at that, resisting the urge to ask why that would be a bad thing.

Cecil frowned, giving Carlos an apologetic look before he grew a bit taller, his skin gaining a more purple hue as his body broadened with sudden muscle, a scaled tail growing and spines lining his back. Two spiraled horns grew on his head, each about a foot long, as his pupils became ellipses again and he grew claws. His clothes expanded to fit the new form, looking quite out of place on the now-demonic Cecil. His tattoos were still barely visible on his skin, being a deeper shade of purple than his skin.

Carlos raised his brows, taking in the new form and hoping he looked alarmed enough to appease Steve. Steve said, "This is what they really are, Carlos. They're nothing like us; they're more dangerous than you can begin to imagine," as Cecil tried to look ashamed of his form.

"I can see that," Carlos said, hoping Steve was buying this more than he himself was.

Steve said, "I'm only doing this because no matter how friendly they try to seem, they're just being deceptive," with a glance to Cecil.

Cecil said, "In my defense, the charisma skills do so come in handy."

"That's nice," Steve said, "now switch back if it's going to kill you." Cecil nodded and shrunk back into his human form, fixing his hair. Carlos watched the change with interest, though he pretended to still be embarrassed about trying to summon him before.

The hole in Cecil's pants that had torn open for his tail mended itself, Cecil sighing, "I'm sure he's been _thoroughly_ warned." Carlos nodded in agreement, putting his hands behind his back again.

Steve said, "I should hope so. Now then, we can head out whenever. It will take awhile to ride to Josie's by carriage."

Carlos nodded, asking, "How many people will be there?"

"A good thirty people, usually," Steve said. "Not many partake in our line of business, though we all respect Josie," he added.

"Right," Carlos said, glancing at Cecil again.

Cecil appeared to be paying attention, though he wasn't looking at either of them. He seemed somewhat nervous, Steve saying, "Josie has special kinds of demons that she summons. Rather, they're not demons at all. She's the only witch or wizard in our time who has been able to summon angels."

Carlos raised his brows again, saying, "I didn't know that was possible."

"Neither did we," Steve said, "but they're fascinating creatures. I believe you'll enjoy meeting them."

"How dangerous are they?" Carlos asked.

"Well, it's believed that they are extremely dangerous when kept unchecked, but Josie has never had problems with them," Steve shrugged, Cecil frowning.

"All right," Carlos said, hoping he'd have a chance to talk to Cecil.

Steve said, "Now then, any other questions can wait while we're on the way there," as he pulled on a pair of black leather gloves. "Let's go." Carlos glanced to the gloves, wondering if they were simply for show as he followed Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmhm steve, carlos is really convinced cecil is dangerous now X3


	17. A Wizard's Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaaaaay it's finally here! and i didn't want to cover the whole party or it wouldve been a loooong chapter. i think the next one will have you all hating us again though, dont worry

The carriage ride to Josie's was slow, Cecil having to walk beside the carriage as Steve and Carlos rode inside. Josie's house was easy to spot even without Steve's directive--it was enormous. The entry was pillared and there was a fountain in front of the door, a roundabout road paved in front of the mansion, several carriages already parked there. Carlos's leg had been tapping the whole time as he resisted asking why Cecil couldn't sit as well. He then realized they were there, exiting the carriage and staring up at the house.

Cecil walked to stand by Steve, as was customary, Steve mumbling, "You'd best behave yourself," to the demon.

Cecil stared straight ahead, asking, "Who, me?"

Carlos walked behind them, looking definitively not at Cecil's pants and instead at the stairs in front of them. They entered the large set of grand double doors, the house already lit well with a multitude of floating candles. There were pillars supporting the tall ceiling, elaborate crystal chandeliers casting glowing dots around the room. Several guests were already present, and indeed each of them had a better-looking companion, presumably the demon they had brought. Josie herself wasn't present yet, Steve saying, "She usually appears coming down those stairs with her angels when everyone has arrived," to Carlos, pointing to the large curved set of stairs overlooking the ballroom they entered. Carlos nodded, watching servers carrying platters of food around.

Steve glanced around, brightening up considerably when he noted a blonde woman in a blue dress followed by a man looking incredibly like Cecil, though his eyes were completely black and his smile was eerily wide. Steve said, "Carlos, come with me, I'd like you to meet someone," with his eyes locked on the pair, giving Cecil the chance to look to Carlos and barely shake his head. Carlos raised a brow at him, already not liking the strange duplicate and having no choice in following Steve.

Cecil's expression locked into as neutral a look as he could manage as he followed Steve as well. The blonde looked over from a conversation with a farmer-looking man and smiled, saying, "Steve, wonderful to see you!"

"And you, Lauren," Steve said, shaking her hand and holding it to give it a kiss, Cecil rolling his eyes and looking like he was resisting the urge to gag. Carlos patted his back automatically, quickly retracting his hand before Steve or Lauren could notice.

The definite demon with the wide smile asked, "How have you been, Mr. Carlsburg?"

"Just fine, Kevin," Steve replied, not breaking his gaze from Lauren.

Kevin turned to Cecil and said, "Cecilll! How good to see you!"

"Don't even think about it," Cecil said as Kevin walked towards him with arms open as if for a hug, pausing upon Cecil's statement. Carlos scooted a half step to the side, for some reason wanting to stay a certain distance from Kevin.

Kevin said, "So kind, as always," with an unchanging grin, though he did step back. As Steve and Lauren seemed to be occupied, Kevin said softer, "Who's the new blood?" with interest, looking to Carlos.

At that, Cecil flat-out dropped his neutral expression for a glare, saying, "None of your concern."

Kevin raised a brow, saying, "Fine, I'll find out later when sweet Lauren undoubtedly asks," he smiled.

Carlos shuffled away again, making a mental note to stay far away from them before briefly wondering what would happen if he tossed a skittle in a roomful of demons. Cecil growled, "Go back to her if she's so sweet then, we've been over my enjoyment of your company," as he looked away, his neutral yet irritated expression resurfacing.

Kevin clapped his hands, chirping, "Good idea!" as he joined Lauren and Steve's conversation.

"Who is that?" Carlos asked under his breath, glancing again to the creepy demon.

Cecil frowned, "That is, by all human accounts...my brother," with extreme distaste. "Not related by blood in any way, but...created in a similar manner."

"Oh," Carlos mumbled, "why does he look like that?"

"He was created for a different purpose," Cecil said, "and that was the complete opposite of mine. He's...permanently affected in a way that makes part of his demon form show through no matter what form he's in."

"What's his purpose?" Carlos asked, mentally recording that demons were made for purposes.

Cecil took a breath, saying, "To be honest, we as demons don't know what we're made for, but we can just...tell there's a drive to do _something_. It's rumored that those demons who find their purpose become..." he paused, glancing to the stairs when people started softly applauding and an old woman appeared on top of the stairs, twelve angels in various sizes lined in rows of six on either side of her.

Carlos stared at the angels, as they were clearly demons that had evolved further in form, growing feathers adorning scaled wings and with shorter spines than Cecil's, their faces all different and all an iridescent form of white. The demons in the room either averted their gaze or glared at the angels, some feeling like they weren't worthy for their betters and the rest simply feeling jealous hatred. Cecil looked upon the angels not with hatred, though, but a sort of longing, keeping his expression neutral as the angels followed who could only be Old Woman Josie down the marble staircase, their wingtips brushing the ground behind them, shortest angels in the back of the lines. Carlos was itching to study them, resisting the urge only as there was clearly some form of formality going on here and because he would most likely be incinerated if he tried.

Steve said, "She always comes around to greet her guests individually," to Carlos. "You can meet her angels soon enough. Oh, I'm sorry, I've been rude. Lauren, this is Carlos, my new protégé," he smiled.

Lauren said, "I was beginning to wonder what sorry soul you were," giving him a sorry look before turning to Steve and grinning again, saying, "Kidding, kidding! I'm Lauren, it's nice to meet you," before offering a hand with manicured nails.

Carlos took it, saying, "Nice to meet you," as he tried not to get distracted by the angels.

Lauren and Steve went back to talking, waiting for Josie to approach at her own time. The demons in the room were ignored by all the humans, giving them plenty of time to jeer at one another and make rude gestures that were again ignored by their summoners. Cecil didn't take part in any of the banter, continuing to watch the angels as he assumed Carlos was.

Carlos was trying to work out how the evolution process would occur, and wondered if it would work if a demon was told their purpose instead of figuring it out on their own. The angels wore pleasant enough smiles, but something about them was fake, and they all seemed a bit stiff. Cecil said softly, "They may be evolved, but they're still servants to whoever summoned them. To my knowledge, they genuinely enjoy Josie's company, but they aren't fond of guests taking her attention from them."

"I can imagine," Carlos mumbled. "What's a demon's purpose, usually?"

Cecil considered that and said, "Well...though many of us would choose to deny it, I always think it has something to do with finding a sort of peace with the human realm. We were made stronger and placed in our own world, yet it was connected to this one with set limitations."

"Interesting," Carlos mumbled again, "they'd disintegrate me if i tried to study them, right?"

"Well, if Josie shows interest in you, they'd be daft to hurt you, so I'd wait to see how she takes to you," Cecil said. "However, if they think you're going to hurt her, I'd run very quickly in the direction of the door."

"I don’t think they'd assume that, but ok," Carlos said, trying not to get distracted.

Cecil said softer, as they were approaching, "Besides, they may dislike guests, but they absolutely adore attention. I think it's a pride thing."

"Mhm," Carlos said, wishing standing next to Cecil wasn't so distracting.

Cecil straightened when Josie approached, giving Steve and Lauren each a hug. The angels looked between Cecil, Kevin, and then Carlos with particular interest, a couple whispering to one another and not making any indication of what they were discussing.

Carlos cleared his throat awkwardly, Josie saying, "Oh, hello dear," briefly, looking him over before turning back to Steve and Lauren, "Have you two seen Barton's work? There's a bloodstone over there, he has some truly fascinating discoveries that could be summoning breakthroughs."

Steve said, "I don't believe I have. You, Lauren?" She shook her head, he continuing, "Ah, very good. May I escort you there, with Josie's leave?" He offered Lauren a bent arm, which she took.

Josie waited for them to walk away before grinning gleefully, saying, "I thought they'd never go away. Is this your boyfriend, dear?"

Cecil blinked, asking, "Uhm...me, ma'am?" with a hint of sarcasm with the proper tone, as he knew Josie, though Steve wasn't aware of their past relations.

"Yes, and don't start with the ma'am on me," Josie said, Carlos staring at her in shock.

Cecil chuckled, "Well, while he is not my boyfriend, it is good to see you again," he opened his arms to offer a hug, the angels all giving him a narrow-eyed look of warning. Carlos was still staring, Josie chuckling and giving Cecil a brief hug. The angels relaxed when Cecil released Josie, Cecil saying, "This is Carlos, Steve's new apprentice," and not allowing himself to look at the young scientist, as he might end up blushing.

Carlos cleared his throat, saying, "Hello." 

Josie said, "Hello, dear. Is Steven treating you alright?" Cecil snorted at the use of the name Steven, glad Kevin lost interest in the conversation and left to talk to another group of demons who had snuck away from their masters.

"Uh, yes," Carlos said, still in shock about the boyfriend thing. 

Josie turned to Cecil, asking, "Does he treat _you_ alright?"

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "I doubt you'd believe me if I told you yes..."

"No," she sighed, "man's thick as a stone wall."

Cecil chortled, "Can't say I disagree. If it's not asking too much, you really must summon me over for some of your danishes again. I've been craving them since the last time I visited."

"Of course, dear," she grinned, "you can bring your friend."

Cecil cleared his throat softly, saying, "I'll see what I can do, but...you've other guests," he gestured with his head, the angels looking amazed he'd suggest she move along.

"I know, I enjoy embarrassing you," she chuckled, nudging his shoulder, "bring him over sometime."

Cecil blushed a faint purple, saying, "I know, we'll see," with a sheepish grin.

"We will," she grinned brightly, walking away.

The angels filed after her in orderly rows, nodding their heads to Cecil and Carlos as they passed, the final angel saying, "Enjoy your stay," in a pleasantly smooth tone much like Cecil's but more monotone. Carlos watched them go, coughing a little and realizing his face was completely red.

Cecil didn't notice, as he was looking away from Carlos, mumbling, "By the Void I hope this party ends soon," more to himself.

"Why did she..." Carlos mumbled, more to himself.

Cecil said, "Like she said, she loves embarrassing me," before he could stop himself, freezing and saying, "uh, you should try some food. We'll be here awhile." Carlos nodded silently, heading off to find a waiter.


	18. A Wizard's Party (part 2)

Cecil watched Carlos go, not wanting to join the other demons but knowing if he stood off alone they'd approach him. It was in this train of thought that within twenty minutes, Cecil was in an argument with other demons in their own language, they making sounds implying mocking tones as Cecil growled counterarguments.

Carlos ended up milling about fairly close to Steve, wanting to go over to Cecil but not sure what was going on. None of the wizards took note of the growing, heated argument, as arguments like it always broke out between demons at these gatherings. Cecil was doing his utmost to simply try to glare the other demons to death rather than use his tentacles, which appeared to be seconds away from manifesting.

Carlos hesitated, having a feeling him going over there would only make it worse but wanting to avoid an argument. He hesitated, wondering again about his question of the candies. He considered for a moment before deciding he would probably get in trouble, taking a red one out of his pocket and subtly kicking it towards the demons anyways.

Somehow or another, the skittle slipped between the feet of any guests in its way, landing skillfully under the legs of a demon. Cecil glanced to it, pupils dilating but not from wanting the candy. The other demons looked to it as well, making excited sounds and growls of claiming before a dog pile of demons was formed, Cecil and Kevin being among the only two who hadn't dived for the candy. A wrestling match had shortly broke out, the demons only knowing what it was due to Cecil bringing home an entire bag with him. Carlos blinked, pretending he hadn't been the one to kick it towards them and casually eating one of the appetizers, hoping he didn't look guilty

Cecil looked to Carlos, knowing he was the only one in the room who'd have brought sugar rather than salt, shortly realizing with fear that if he had more on him... Cecil slowly broke away from the pile of wrestling demons, a few wizards moving in to break it up. Cecil approached Carlos, gesturing to join him.

Carlos walked over carefully, having only a few candies in his pocket that he could get out easily. Cecil bent down and said softly, "I sincerely hope you don't have more sugar on you," as he continued looking to the demons to make sure none were searching for more yet.

"A few," Carlos mumbled, "I was going to try to drop it somewhere."

"Do it quickly," Cecil hissed, "as soon as they catch the scent, they'll be like bloodhounds. Nothing will get between them and more sugar."

Carlos sighed, walking around a hallway and setting the candy on the small ledge that ran along the wall. He walked back quickly, asking "is it addictive to you?"

"That's...putting it lightly," Cecil admitted, keeping his eye on the other demons, who had in fact began searching around the room, some smelling at the air.

"It is addictive?" Carlos said, wondering if it was similar to alcohol for them.

"Addictive doesn't even begin to cover it," Cecil said. "Demons don't have a lot of blood sugar to begin with, seeing as there's practically none of it in our realm. It's a rare delicacy, and in such a pure form..."

"Is it bad for you?" Carlos asked, frowning.

Cecil gave Carlos a look, saying, "If it was bad for us, I wouldn't eat so much of it. Like I said, we spend energy quickly. The sugar hardly lasts long enough to give us any kind of rush."

"That's interesting," Carlos mumbled, "oh, and it's behind this wall, we might want to move."

"Definitely," Cecil nodded, nudging Carlos over as a demon's head snapped their general direction, more following suit. As Cecil and Carlos escaped the wave of oncoming demons, Cecil said, "Thanks, by the way."

"Don't mention it," Carlos chuckled, realizing his hand was somehow on Cecil's back and removing it.

"Now to survive the night," Cecil sighed, looking around at the multitude of people still enjoying the party and ignoring the demons while Josie looked to be in a fit of laughter in a corner, the angels attempting to calm her.

Carlos grinned at a sudden thought, murmuring, "Imagine if we managed to fill Steve’s pockets with candy."

Cecil raised both his brows, saying, "I'd have loved to see that, but somehow I think he'd have blamed me."

"It's a shame," Carlos sighed, "we could make it look like an accident."

Cecil shook his head, sighing, "While I don't doubt we could, we had better not. I think he finally noticed I haven't been accompanying him all night like goody-two-shoes over there," as Kevin stood beside Lauren looking gleeful as always.

"That's because the other one is insanely creepy," Carlos sighed, "and he probably shouldn't know we're talking."

"I know," Cecil frowned. "And yes, he always has been. You should see his tattoos manifested," he shivered.

"I don't think I want to," Carlos said, pretending to be reading one of the signs on the wall.

"Probably not," Cecil nodded. "Anyway, I'll check in with Carlsburg. Enjoy yourself; I'll see you when this nightmare is over."

"See you," Carlos sighed milling about the room aimlessly.

It took several hours, but the party finally began to clear out. People said their farewells to their friends and their host, the angels not shaking anyone’s hands but nodding at a few out of courtesy. Steve gathered Carlos and Cecil back to him, saying, "I've offered to escort miss Mallard home; this means you two are to join us."

Carlos nodded, glad to be heading out of the place. Cecil nodded stiffly as Kevin squealed with delight, "Ooh, I do so love company!"

Lauren chuckled, "Indeed, we appreciate it. We can head out whenever you're ready."

Carlos nodded again, not eager to walk home with Kevin but not having a say about it.

Steve said, "Right then, my carriage is outside. Did you walk?"

"We did," Lauren replied, "I don't live far from here."

"Very well, we can take my carriage part way?" Steve suggested.

Lauren waved a hand, saying, "You can leave it parked here, I'm sure. The walk will only take a couple minutes."

Carlos sighed internally, knowing it would be rude to ask to just wait there and avoiding looking at Cecil. They agreed to walk and headed out, Josie waving goodbye and winking to Cecil, who looked away with a blush creeping into his cheeks again. Steve, Lauren, and Carlos walked in front of the two demons, who didn't exactly lag, as Cecil wanted the walk to be over quickly as Kevin jabbered to him. Carlos didn't really like walking in front of Kevin, as while the demon seemed friendly and cheerful all the time there was something definitively off about him.

Cecil hadn't been paying any attention to Kevin, up until Kevin said, "I don't know why you hate social gatherings so much, Cecil. I mean, getting to see all our relatives outside of home is great fun! You've been missing a lot of stories about you and your new pet, you know."

Cecil's gaze snapped to Kevin in a glare, growling, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well if you'd stop spending time with _him_ and more time at _home_ maybe you would!" Kevin laughed with triumph at getting Cecil to speak, though he only succeeded in making Cecil look more pissed off.

Carlos tilted his head, starting to listen in on their conversation, as he was ready to shoot himself from Lauren and Steve's mindless drivel. Cecil frowned, "I spend plenty of time at home."

"Nooo, not since he came in to your life," Kevin sing-songed, practically skipping now.

"Kevin," Cecil growled in warning, eyes flashing a dangerous shade of purple.

"Oh come on, I won't tell anyone else; tell me about your new boy-toy!" Kevin beamed a sharp-toothed smile.

The smile quickly faded as Cecil roared, "That's **it**!" and his tattoos had become tentacles, slamming into Kevin, who yelped and manifested his own tattoos, which become spidery insect legs that gripped the ground to stop Cecil from shoving him back.

Carlos spun around, saying, "Cecil, don't..." as he grabbed his arm to pull him away, releasing him instantly and hissing, his hands burnt.

Cecil blinked, fierceness gone from his eyes as he turned, saying, "Carlos-" in worry before several things happened at once.

Some of Kevin's legs moved off the ground now that Cecil's tentacles weren't pushing him, grabbing the tentacles with clawed tips instead, making Cecil turn his head back to his inquiry shortly before Steve and Lauren had assessed the situation. Steve immediately had a hand out, using whatever silent punishment he had used on Cecil the night he found him with Carlos. Cecil roared again, tentacles writhing back, getting scratched by Kevin's claws in the process and folding themselves into tattoos as he knelt to the ground, Kevin taking a step back with a look of shocked horror. Carlos winced, muttering the return word under his breath as soon as he realized what was happening, glaring at Kevin and holding his hands to his chest.

Steve walked towards Cecil, who gave Carlos a fearful look before his eyes shut again in pain. Steve growled, "How many times am I going to have to teach you to _stay in line_?" as the blinding pain on Cecil's part had brought him to the ground. 

Lauren tore her eyes away, saying, "Here, let me see those," gently to Carlos, knowing a spot of healing magic. Carlos frowned, holding his hands out but still watching Cecil.

Lauren held one hand below and another above Carlos' hands, only knowing enough to soothe the pain. Steve said, "If I summon you again, you had better be ready to apologize," as he made the pain last until Cecil was in the fetal position before finally relenting, stopping the punishment and saying the dismissal in a quick breath, Cecil panting but fading away. Kevin slowly folded his tattoos away, smile gone and watching the spot Cecil had disappeared from. Carlos watched the spot as well, feeling his hands being soothed slightly, though it wasn't much to speak of.

Steve took a deep breath, straightening his collar and saying, "I'm so sorry about that. He's always been a troublemaker, and I keep thinking maybe he's changed."

"They never do," Lauren sighed, ceasing the magic she was putting into Carlos' hands, as it was the most she could do. Carlos resisted the urge to kick him, instead taking his hands back and giving Kevin another look.

Kevin carefully avoided Carlos' gaze, walking briskly to stand by Lauren. Steve asked, "Did you want us to continue escorting you?"

"I actually think we will manage from here, thank you," Lauren managed a smile. "I'll see you around sometime, Steve," she said, kissing his cheek.

"I look forward to it," he grinned, shortly followed by, "Carlos," and a nod in the direction of Josie's house. Carlos nodded, starting to walk back with him and disappointed in his lack of ability to kick Kevin as he passed. 

"I told you Carlos, you can't trust demons," Steve sighed, though not in a scolding manner as they went to collect his carriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't hate usss *hides behind large shield*


	19. A Demon's Apology

Carlos stood next to his pentagram, more carefully drawn than usual and rimmed in actual salt this time, as he was summoning a different demon than usual.

A similar smoke affect to Cecil's filled the pentagram, only it looked more like swirling sand that formed into a black-eyed demon, who looked around the room, smile growing wide at the new surroundings before looking at his summoner, flinching and saying, "Oh, hello again," with a more forced happiness, tapping his fingers together nervously.

"Hello," said Carlos flatly, his hands previously given aloe and wrapped in bandages Steve had insisted on.

Kevin's smile was faltering, strange as it rarely ever did. He asked, "So, what can I do for you? And so soon after that wonderful party; they should have those more often-" he began to ramble.

"What were you talking about?" Carlos asked flatly.

"Hm? You'll have to be a tad more specific, friend," Kevin asked, continuing to smile and appearing to become more relaxed as well.

"What were you talking about that pissed Cecil off?" Carlos asked.

"Oooh, that," Kevin chuckled, baring his teeth, but not threateningly. "I was talking about you, actually." His cracked tattoos turned into insect legs, unfolding to become a sort of table much like Cecil had used, laying stomach down on it with very similar mannerisms.

"Why?" Carlos asked, his arms still crossed.

Kevin chuckled, setting his chin on his hand and saying, "I just wanted to get him to talk. He can't _stop_ talking about you when he comes home, so I figured he'd enjoy talking about it here, too, but evidently, he doesn't," he sighed, using his hands to accentuate what he was saying, only passing it off as somewhat flamboyant.

Carlos raised a brow at that, "What were you saying about me?"

Kevin hummed in thought, "Nothing bad, but the demons at the party were interested, too. Cecil was adamant of course that he doesn't have a crush on you, and even if he did, 'how could a human love a demon' and all this cover story. It was funny listening to his excuses," he laughed.

"You're aware that we're not even close to dating."

Kevin raised a brow, "So he got you in on it, too? You can tell me, y'know; I won't judge," he smiled widely.

"I'm being entirely serious," Carlos said flatly.

Kevin laughed, "Sure you are," before winking. "He really does fancy you, though. There are some demons back home who'd _kill_ to be in your place."

"That's fantastic," Carlos said, completely unamused, "we're not, in fact, a couple, and I'd think trying to tease him about it when his reaction would get him into a lot of trouble is an insanely stupid idea."

Kevin's smile melted away, "Oh no, I didn't mean for him to be punished. As demons go, Cecil's a good guy. And besides, you'd make a cute couple," his grin returned.

"That doesn't change the fact that we're not, and I'd have to say this mess is largely your fault."

Kevin tilted his head, "So you brought me here to confirm your suspicions about Cecil's feelings for you and to try to guilt trip me? No wonder he likes yoouuu," he purred with a widening smile.

Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose, "Are you always like this?"

"I've no reason not to be!" Kevin chirped. "Every day is a glorious one, especially when the sun shines!"

Carlos stared at him for a moment in disbelief before saying, "...Ralon."

"Alright, see you around," Kevin said as he faded away, sounding surprised he was being so suddenly dismissed.

"Gods I hope not," Carlos mumbled, starting another summoning spell.

This time around, Cecil skipped all dramatic effects, as when he was summoned he had been in the middle of strangling another demon and was still crouched in the position with his hands down around a neck now gone. He blinked, sighing in exasperation as he started to stand, "Steve, I was in the mid-" and froze when he saw it was Carlos, trying to take a step back and not able to, panic rising quickly to replace his previous anger as Carlos had apparently trapped him in the pentagram. He breathed, "Shit," and looked quite like a deer trapped in headlights. "I'm so...you've no idea...I just..." he stammered, staying as far back as the pentagram would allow.

"Are you alright?" Carlos asked, ignoring whatever he'd been doing before. "How long has it been in your time?"

Cecil swallowed, shaking a bit and replying, "A manner of minutes, I...barely had time to recover," he admitted, looking worn out and scared beyond anything.

"Oh," Carlos frowned, "sorry, I realized it was sunset right when I got home and I didn't want to wait..."

Cecil glanced around, noting they were in Carlos' room and saying, "Y...you're not..." slowly registering that he wasn't in fact being punished.

"I'm not?" Carlos asked, scanning him worriedly.

Cecil stared back, eyes beginning to look watery as he said, "Not mad that...I hurt you," he choked out, looking away.

"No, of course not, you didn't mean to," Carlos walked to the edge of the pentagram.

"You...still sort of trapped me, though," Cecil mumbled, not meeting Carlos' gaze.

"I..." Carlos said, glancing down, "oh, Void, I’m sorry, that wasn't for you," he quickly started to kick the salt away.

Cecil looked to Carlos' feet brushing the salt away, "You're really not...?" with disbelief.

"Of course I'm not upset. It's not really your fault I got burned."

Cecil finally looked up then, eyes locking onto Carlos' before he stepped forward, grabbing the front of Carlos' shirt and bending down to kiss him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cackles evilly and runs into the distance*


	20. Forgiven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright alright here, have the next part of this chapter on me ;D

Carlos blinked, stunned frozen, his hands held out to the sides and his eyes wide as saucers.

Cecil collected himself, yelping and snapping his head back, letting Carlos go and stepping back over the ring of the pentagram, hands over his mouth and staring right back, not sure what to say that would excuse his behavior.

Carlos remained absolutely frozen on what had happened for a moment, before his brain rebooted and kicked into gear, letting him start forwards.

"I'msosorryI'msuchanidiotIdon'tknowwhat-" Cecil started saying rapidly as Carlos approached.

Carlos grinned, putting a hand on Cecil's shoulder to bring him down to his height before pressing his lips to Cecil’s.

"AndIjusthougmmf-" Cecil was interrupted, blinking in surprise before he was kissing back, moving a hand to Carlos' waist and the other to his back. Carlos grinned again, pulling away after a moment to give him a hug. Cecil took a slow breath in, wrapping his hands around the shorter human and nuzzling into his hair, mumbling, "I've always wanted to do this," against it.

"Do what?" Carlos mumbled, still happily buried in Cecil's shoulder.

"Erm...nuzzle your hair," Cecil admitted sheepishly. "It just always looks so fluffy and perfect," he grinned, burrowing his nose around in it some more.

Carlos chuckled, admitting, "I've been wanting to kiss you for a few days now," quietly.

Cecil snorted softly, "Sorry to keep you waiting," as he rubbed Carlos' back slowly.

"Really, though, are you alright?" he asked.

"Better now that one worry is off my shoulders," Cecil said, marveling at the scent and feel of Carlos' hair.

"Good," Carlos sighed, "I was worried."

"So was I," Cecil said, loosening his grip a little as he asked, "um...I don't suppose I could maybe...spend the night? I could use my cat form and everything..."

"Of course," Carlos chuckled, "you could be in this form too, i think."

Cecil said, "Well...if you're sure Steve won't check in on you," with a questioning look.

"I highly doubt it," Carlos said, "and I locked my door."

Cecil chuckled, "Good, human form it is," giving Carlos another squeeze before asking, "did you have to change?"

"These are my pj's," Carlos said, just happy he was there.

"Damn, missed opportunity," Cecil smirked.

Carlos rolled his eyes, saying, “Glad you're alright."

"Always am," Cecil grinned, hesitating and bending down for another kiss. Carlos grinned, wrapping an arm behind him. Cecil pulled back after a minute, frowning, "I'm sorry, I...you do know it really is dangerous to be around me?"

"I know," he said, "I'm alright with that."

Cecil frowned a bit more, "I'm glad, but...I mean...I don't want to see you hurt on my account again."

"That was just an accident," Carlos said, "I'm fine."

Cecil glanced to his hands, saying, "Still look pretty hurt to me."

"That's because Steve insisted on a useless bandage," Carlos said, "I've been burned worse by a stove."

Cecil snorted, mumbling, "Sure, but was the stove hotter than me?" with a playful smirk.

"I don't think so," Carlos chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Cecil sat, saying, "Good, then I don't have to destroy your stove," as he set his head on Carlos' shoulder, purring softly. Carlos grinned, rubbing his back with the side of his hand and resting his head on Cecil's. "You sure you're alright with me staying?" Cecil asked with a hint of worry.

"I'd be more than happy if you stayed," Carlos grinned.

Cecil grinned shyly, cuddling against him again and nuzzling his jaw, asking, "Ever think about growing a beard?"

"No," Carlos said, "I'm too young."

Cecil leaned up to give him a skeptical look, saying, "Well grow older, then. I think you'd look good with one."

"I'll consider it," he said, "I doubt it."

Cecil snorted, "The rest of your hair is perfect; I'm sure a beard would be just as perfect." Carlos rolled his eyes, wrapping his arm around Cecil. Cecil purred, leaning to burrow his nose into Carlos' hair again. "If you ever cut it, I'll never forgive you," he mentioned.

"I have to trim it at some point," Carlos reminded him.

Cecil groaned, carding a hand through it and mumbling, "No you dooon't," and put his other arm around Carlos with the full intent of keeping him sitting in bed forever if it meant his hair wouldn't be cut.

"If I don't it will grow to the floor," Carlos said.

"That wouldn't be a bad thing," Cecil said, wrapping his other arm around Carlos as his tentacles slowly started joining in as well.

"It would be for me," Carlos sighed, unconcerned about the extra appendages.

Cecil made a upset whining noise like a kicked puppy, a tendril curling around Carlos' arm and another reaching up his back to curl through his hair, a third snaking down his leg. Carlos sighed, leaning back and taking Cecil with him. Cecil withdrew some tattoos, starting to purr in spite of himself and using a tentacle to lift the covers over them.

Carlos grinned, snuggling into Cecil's shoulder and mumbling, "On the off hand Steve tries to get in, turn into a cat."

"I planned on it," Cecil said, wrapping an arm over Carlos along with a tentacle that rubbed Carlos' back, attempting to slip under his shirt before Cecil frowned at it and moved it away. Carlos raised a brow but didn't call attention to it, instead sighing and settling in. Cecil continued purring, saying, "Goodnight," in that insanely smooth tone, making it hard to believe he didn't invent the word.

Carlos grinned, saying, "Night, Cecil," and kissing his cheek.

Cecil grinned back, sliding a foot between Carlos' and sighing in content. This time, however, he didn't sleep a wink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those worried this is gonna turn into a huge fluff-fest, dont worry. it will remain a nice mix of fluff and feels, not that thats very comforting for you :P


	21. Payback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh how fun it is writing cat!cecil <3

By the time Carlos was about to be waking, Cecil heard someone coming up the stairs and groaned to himself, having been perfectly comfortable but turning into a cat nonetheless. He curled into a ball, hearing presumably Steve pause outside and continue on his way when he didn't hear Carlos moving. 

Cecil stood, stretching and sitting in front of Carlos' head, putting a paw on his cheek and poking him a few times. Carlos shifted, brushing at the paw still asleep and yawning. Cecil meowed next and licked Carlos' nose, hoping his annoying cat antics would rouse the scientist from sleep. Carlos brushed at the cat again, groaning and turning his face into the pillow. Cecil bristled his fur at being ignored, climbing to sit on Carlos' shoulder and pawing at his ear, meowing again in case Steve was still upstairs.

Carlos sighed, sitting up and mumbling, "What?"

Cecil hopped off his shoulder as he sat up, crawling to sit on his lap instead and saying softly, "If you sleep in too long Steve will know you were up late. I think he was just upstairs."

Carlos sighed, mumbling, "Had a weird dream," as he rubbed his eyes.

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "What about?"

"Mm, burned my hands and then had to summon you later and oh..." Carlos mumbled, opening his eyes.

Cecil grinned, "I'd be happy to remind you it wasn't a dream," as his tail flicked happily.

Carlos blinked again, repeating, "Oh."

Cecil said, "If you were ah...out of it last night and didn't mean it, I'll...I mean I'd understand if..." awkwardly, tail curling around his feet.

Carlos gave him a look, saying, “Could you switch over for a minute?”

"Uh, sure," Cecil said, not bothering to move off his lap and transforming, starting to ask, "why d-"

Carlos leaned forwards and kissed him, saying, "I would never do something like that."

"Mm, I'm glad," Cecil hummed, leaning forward and kissing him again, forgetting to move off his lap. Carlos grinned, rubbing his back and standing, his arms under Cecil to support him. Cecil leaned back for Carlos to be freed, asking, "Did you know you make cute snuffling sounds in your sleep?"

"No," Carlos said, "no one's mentioned it."

Cecil grinned, a tentacle curling around Carlos' lower back as he said, "I hope you don't stop."

"I'll do my best," he chuckled, resting his forehead against Cecil's.

Cecil purred, sighing, "Guess I should turn back into a cat if you're gonna go downstairs?"

"I guess so," Carlos sighed, "wish you didn't have to."

Cecil shrugged, "It's not a big deal, really. Besides, I think I can live with it if I can be in a human form at night," he grinned.

"I'd just... sure," Carlos said, settling Cecil on the bed and trying to find a change of clothes again, saying, "I should shower." Cecil raised a brow, making a curious warble much like a cat. "I've gotta shower?" Carlos repeated, folding his clothes over his arm, "it should be ten minutes tops."

"I know," Cecil said, glancing away casually, acting like he definitely didn't plan on sneaking into the bathroom as a cat.

"Be right back," Carlos said, opening the drawer he'd hidden the candy in as he passed. Cecil looked to the drawer, smelling the sugar wafting out of it and glaring at Carlos' back, standing and moving to the drawer instead of following him to the bathroom.

Carlos showered, quickly realizing with regret that he'd forgotten to actually bring his clothes with him and had in fact left them on the dresser. Cecil had brought some candy with him to sit cross-legged on the bed, munching happily and tilting his head when he heard the water turn off.

"Uh," Carlos called, "Cecil?"

"Hm?" Cecil hummed in question, tossing more skittles into his mouth.

"I uh..." Carlos said, "can you grab my clothes for me? I kinda.."

Cecil choked on the skittles, coughing to clear them and saying, "Sure," with his voice a bit hoarse, setting the candy aside and grabbing his clothes, standing outside the door and grinning evilly, saying, "actually, I might not."

Carlos frowned, "Cecil, I need them."

Cecil smirked, leaning outside the bathroom against the wall, "You _could_ come get them, you know. I mean, what's in it for me if I skip out an opportunity like this?"

"I have to get ready for the day," Carlos groaned.

Cecil sighed, "Fine, open the door a little, I'll hold them out," as he didn't actually move the clothes in his arms. Carlos narrowed his eyes, wrapping a towel securely around his waist before cracking open the door. Cecil remained leaning on the wall, glancing to Carlos and sighing, "Damn you and your towels," as he handed the clothes over.

"Thought so," Carlos mumbled, grabbing his bundle of garments.

Cecil leaned away from the wall, walking back to the bed and sitting in the center of it once again to eat his candy. Carlos came out again a minute later changed for the day, sighing and rubbing a hand through his damp hair.

Cecil looked over, saying, "Morning," with a coy grin, popping a few more skittles into his mouth.

"Mhm," Carlos said, heading over and saying "cat."

Cecil frowned, groaning, "But you were just saying how you wished I could stay in this form!"

"I know, but I have to go," Carlos sighed.

Cecil sighed, shrinking into a cat, tentacles curling into a tail, which swished up and curled gracefully around his feet, Cecil's ears pointing backwards, giving away his agitation. Carlos sighed again, petting him before picking him up under his arms. Cecil made a surprised 'mur' and wriggled slightly, his arms sticking out helplessly in his current form. He glared at Carlos, mumbling, "I hate you sometimes."

"I know," Carlos said, heading towards the door, "but you could have just given me my clothes"

"I am an all powerful demon of the night, don't hold me like this!" Cecil whined, squirming fruitlessly. "And I'd bet you'd have done the same."

"I would have at least given you pants," Carlos said, carrying him into the kitchen.

"I don't wear a shirt anyway!" Cecil countered, ears flat back as Carlos hadn't adjusted his grip.

"Exactly," Carlos said, now simply not wanting to put Cecil down.

Cecil grumbled, "I'm not sure this is proper punishment for holding your clothes hostage for ten seconds."

"But it's really fun," Carlos said, nuzzling the back of his head.

Cecil made an upset noise, a mix of a meow and a growl, as he heard Steve walking down the hall. Steve stopped in the door, asking, "What on earth are you doing to that cat?" as Cecil made a similar sound of oppression.

"Holding it," Carlos said innocently.

Cecil made a low, sad growling noise, Steve shaking his head and sighing, "He doesn't sound too happy about it."

"I know," Carlos said, "he was trying to get into the cabinets."

"Ah, carry on then," Steve said, grabbing a mug of coffee and walking out, Cecil making a whining noise at Steve's retreating back.

Carlos chuckled, saying, "You're really too cute to be fair."

"What did I say about calling me cute? And I was cussing him out in the elegant cat language," Cecil growled, leaving his mouth slightly open to bare his fangs as his tail twitched.

"I don't know why you have a problem with it, being called cute, I mean," Carlos said, setting him down, finally.

Cecil's entire body shook, trotting out of Carlos' reach before turning around, saying, "I'm a demon! Letting you call me cute is bringing down my image."

"No one else heard me calling you cute," Carlos said, leaning on the counter.

Cecil frowned, mumbling, "I...may have accidentally brought it up at home, starting the whole rumor to begin with."

"You mentioned that I called you cute?" Carlos asked, raising a brow.

"I talk to myself sometimes when I'm excited, shut up!" Cecil's fur ruffled, looking away sheepishly and seeming angrier with himself.

"So you said I called you cute," Carlos said, crouching.

Cecil made another growling sound, saying, "It was the first time you did, a few days ago your time. I...didn't think I had any chance of you actually liking me, so I forced myself not to think so much into it after my slip-up."

"Ah," Carlos said, "I still don't see a reason why I can't call you cute."

"It's just...weird to hear, is all," Cecil huffed.

"Well, you are cute," Carlos said, "I won't call you cute around other people."

Cecil groaned, flopping to lie sprawled on his side, "You don't get it! I don't care about you calling me cute around other people, it just...feels like the wrong term to use to describe a demon."

"Well, everyone has a different idea of cute," Carlos said, kneeling to pet his side. Cecil moaned but started purring, rolling onto his back as the tip of his tail started moving up and down. "So far, I've thought two of your forms are cute."

Cecil looked at him upside down, asking, "What of the third?" not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"That was kind of hot," Carlos smirked.

Cecil raised his brows, flipping to lie on his stomach and saying, "Oh, um...thanks?"

Carlos chuckled, petting his back and saying, "I won't call you cute if you really don't want me to."

Cecil purred, saying, "No, it's alright. I'll...get used to it eventually, maybe," with a small smile, his purr growing louder. Carlos grinned, petting his back and standing to make coffee. Cecil stood up when Carlos stopped petting him, wiggling his butt again before leaping smoothly onto the counter to watch Carlos. Carlos started to take out a second mug, looking at him in question. Cecil said, "Don't mind me, I'm just watching," casually, lying on the counter with his tail draping over the edge.

"Do you want some?" Carlos asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Cecil asked, tilting his head as his whiskers bent forward.

"You didn't sleep," Carlos said, pouring him coffee.

"How do you know?" Cecil asked. "I could have taken a nap."

"Because when you sleep you sleep like a log and cling to me," Carlos said.

Cecil cleared his throat, saying, "Ah, right," and tilting his head, judging Steve to be far away and turning into a human seated on the counter. He grabbed a mug of coffee, saying, "Thanks," before taking a drink, gagging when it didn't have sugar in it. Turns out he had picked up Carlos'.

Carlos winced, saying, "Ah, sorry," and switching their mugs.

Cecil coughed a bit, taking a drink of his own and sighing with relief, saying, "No, that was my fault," and taking another drink.

Carlos sighed, "I should label them."

Cecil shook his head, saying, "No, really, it was my fault for getting eager. By the way, what were you gonna do today?" he asked, crossing his legs and taking a sip.

"I don't know, I haven't been informed yet," Carlos said.

"Hm, I wouldn't be surprised if he drags you to Lauren's place soon," Cecil mused. "He'll want me to formally apologize," he said the last two words with heavy sarcasm.

Carlos frowned, saying, "That's a bit ridiculous."

Cecil sighed, "So is punishing me for something I didn't mean to do. Carlsburg just got a different viewpoint of what happened."

"But... would it make it worse if i tried to explain?" Carlos asked.

"He'd wonder why you're defending me," Cecil said. "There's not much you can do. Believe it or not, I've had worse summoners."

Carlos frowned, "That's possible?"

Cecil snorted, "Oooh yeah, that one left me with some scars," blinking as he hadn't meant to say that out loud, quietly taking a drink and looking away.


	22. We're Off to See Ol' Josie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn i'm running out of chapter title names XD ohwell, its a free country. i would've put the visit to josie's house in this chapter too but then it would've been reeaally long, so y'all gonna hafta wait

Carlos frowned, "I didn't know you could _be_ scarred."

Cecil took a drink, licking his lips in thought and saying, "With certain tools, yes..." not meeting Carlos' gaze. Carlos frowned further, doing what seemed like the most obvious thing to do at the time and hugging him. Cecil blinked, untucking an arm to put around Carlos without putting his coffee down, using tentacles as well and saying, "I suppose you're going to want to study that, hm?"

"Only if you're ok with it," he said, releasing him again.

Cecil sighed, "To be honest, he was a bit of a scientist himself. He saw me more as an experiment than anything, though."

"Ah," Carlos frowned, "is there a way to not let certain people summon you?"

Cecil blinked, shaking his head and saying, "Not that I'm aware of, but he long since died, Carlos. He just...left his mark."

"I would have figured he's dead by now, but I don't really want Steve summoning you either," Carlos said.

Cecil frowned, "Steve really isn't that bad in comparison. Sure I'm no fan of him, but at least he didn't-" he stopped himself, shaking his head and taking a drink.

Carlos frowned, "You're going to explain at some point."

Cecil said, "I don't know what use the knowledge would be to you," and took another drink. "I mean, maybe in self def-" he stopped, turning into a cat and licking his paw as Steve's footsteps could be heard down the hall. Carlos was glad he'd already drunk and set his mug in the sink, instead picking up Cecil’s almost-empty mug.

Steve entered the room, glancing about and asking, "Were you talking to someone, Carlos?"

"I was trying to remember a recipe for chili, sorry," Carlos said, "unless we're having something else for dinner?"

Steve shrugged, "I hadn't planned anything, no. You sure you want to cook?"

"I'd be alright with it," Carlos said, "but that's a while away anyways."

"So it is," Steve said. "Also, if you're going to allow the cat on my counters, you'd better make triply sure you get all the fur off them," as he gave Khoshekh a look, the cat looking back at him innocently.

"I will," Carlos said, scooping the cat up and under his arm anyways. Khoshekh's tail flicked back and forth in content, the position actually not particularly uncomfortable. 

Steve sighed, "Anyway, meet me in the courtyard in about...oh, an hour or so. We've upcoming projects to discuss, and it's a nice day outside."

"Sure," Carlos said, not setting Cecil back down until Steve had left.

Cecil thudded gently to the ground, looking up at Carlos and asking, "Why'd you put me down?" with a pout.

"I assumed... ok" Carlos said, scooping him back up. "You want to finish your coffee?"

Cecil purred, nuzzling against Carlos' chin and saying, "Sure. But then we've got an hour to kill."

"I'm sure there's something for us to do," Carlos said, holding his coffee for him.

Cecil purred more and leaned his head to lap up the coffee, making petite drinking sounds followed by swallows once in awhile, pausing and licking his lips, saying, "Hm, we could refill my stock of candy?"

"You went through it all already?" Carlos asked.

"Not quite, but it's running low," Cecil said, reinserting his face into the mug to keep drinking.

"How is it already... nevermind," Carlos sighed.

"You sleep for hours on end," Cecil said. "I get a lot of free time."

"I hope you didn't just sit there eating candy," Carlos said.

Cecil paused, tail twitching as he said, "I might have, for an hour or so," before finishing the coffee, using a tentacle that uncurled from his tail to help tilt the cup.

"Oh dear," Carlos sighed, "we should start to ration that."

Cecil licked his lips again, saying, "You don't have to. It's not like I'm gonna get fat from it or something."

"I wouldn't be concerned about that, I’m just not sure if it's good for you," Carlos said.

Cecil shrugged, "Been feeling fine so far. You're lucky I stayed out of the bag of sugar in Carlsburg's kitchen."

"He wouldn't let me keep you," Carlos said, "maybe we could ask Josie if it's good for you.”

Cecil said, "True, she'd probably know. In fact, I think she helped a lot of the angels figure out what their purpose was. I'm not entirely sure she's human, either."

"Really?" Carlos said, petting his back after setting down the coffee.

"Mmhm, at least it wouldn't surprise me if she wasn't," Cecil said, purring as his tail swayed.

"What would she be, then?" Carlos asked. "She doesn't look like a demon."

"No, certainly not," Cecil assured. "There used to be tales of higher-power beings referred to by all kinds of names, though. I believe Djinn or Genie might be one term for it, but that's not quite what she'd be, I think."

"I want to look in to that," Carlos said, "I suppose it'd be rude to just ask her."

Cecil snorted, "No, she's always open to discussion. Maybe try not to make it sound like an accusal of not being human," he suggested.

"I don't think it's much of an accusation, but sure," Carlos said.

Cecil said, "Anyway, that's probably not the best way to spend an hour. We can if you want to..."

"Sure," Carlos said, "it's pretty warm out today."

Cecil sighed, something else having been on his mind but saying, "Alright, sure. She'd probably be thrilled to see I took her advice and brought you there."

"It did work out," he grinned, patting his back.

Cecil purred, again glad a blush couldn't be seen through fur and saying, "I'm glad it did," quietly, shifting to cuddle more against Carlos' chest.

"Me too," he chuckled, "should I grab anything before we go?"

"If you want to," Cecil said. "I don't think anything is strictly necessary."

"We're visiting uninvited, should I bring food or something?" Carlos asked.

Cecil said, "She always has plenty, and believe me she enjoys company."

"Alright," Carlos sighed, "I should tell Steve."

"Mmhm," Cecil said, tail swishing as he crossed his paws, stretching his neck up to nuzzle Carlos' chin again. Carlos grinned, scratching under his chin as he went to go tell Steve he was going to take a walk. Cecil grinned and purred, drinking up the attention as his ear twitched and he tilted his head up for Carlos' hand.

In ten minutes Carlos was walking out into the sidewalk asking, "Do you want to turn into a human or...?"

"Ah, that's true," Cecil said. "I'd hate to give the angels more reasons to degrade me," as he made sure no one was watching before growing into a human, still in Carlos' arms.

"Cecil," Carlos complained, suddenly carrying a lot more weight than he was expecting and setting him down.

Cecil chuckled, "Had to. Besides, I'm lighter than you'd think, at least in human form."

"I could tell, but that was unexpected," he said, realize he still had an arm behind his back.

Cecil grinned, "Well, would've been fun," as he nuzzled Carlos' temple.

"Maybe later," Carlos sighed, "come on."

They strolled along, Cecil knowing the route to her house and somewhat glad Carlos didn't think to take a carriage, as horses didn't particularly like demons. He had to keep him tentacles from manifesting on more than one occasion, frowning at the sunlight in particular. Carlos was enjoying the sunny day, though he glanced to Cecil and asked, "Have you ever considered sunglasses?"

"No," Cecil said, "they sound terrible," thinking they would somehow increase the sunlight people see.

"They help block the sun, though," Carlos said.

Cecil blinked, saying, "Doesn't sound like it. Besides, it's not that I'm not used to sunlight, but somehow, it's stronger here, yet warmer at home."

"Odd," Carlos said, "maybe you have a different type of sun."

"We don't particularly care to look into it," Cecil shrugged. "Mostly we're afraid of getting roasted alive if we leave our apparent atmocube."

"Our... what?" Carlos said.

"Atmocube," Cecil replied simply. "The demon realm has a lot of opposites to contrast this one. We don't have a sphere surrounding our realm like you do."

"You have a cubic atmosphere?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah," Cecil shrugged, "I'm not entirely positive what shape the planet is, it might morph every year or so. Hard to say in a demon realm."

"Fascinating," Carlos mumbled, realizing they were already at Josie's house.

Cecil chuckled, "We can talk about it later. I think you meant to ask about my hearts, too."

"I will, later," Carlos said, starting awkwardly up the gigantic steps.

Cecil followed, not nearly as daunted by the size of the house, as he had been there before in his younger years. He said, "Just knock, I imagine an angel will answer."


	23. Josie's

Carlos knocked on the door somewhat quietly. An angel opened the door immediately, so soon Carlos wondered if maybe they had sensed their approach. The angel looked them over, saying, "Lady Josie was expecting you," as he stood aside, gesturing them into the house. "She's in the living room reading to the other angels. Allow me to take you there." He didn't seem particularly thrilled about their company, but he certainly seemed happier than the night before. Carlos nodded slowly, letting Cecil lead the way to the living room.

Cecil was much happier to be visiting Josie's house without all the people, the angel saying, "Josie, we have company."

"Ah, thank you dear," Josie said, looking up from her book and smiling.

Cecil stood aside to let Carlos join him, saying, "Hello again, Josie. I hope we didn't pick a bad time to visit?"

"Not at all," she grinned, "I'm glad you two sorted out." Carlos blushed.

Cecil cleared his throat, asking, "Did you ah...know that was going to happen or?"

"I was fairly certain," she said, "you two were emitting enough hormones to flood the room."

Cecil blushed, saying, "I...ah. Unfortunately it took a bit of pain on Carlos' part for us to realize..." he glanced to Carlos' hands.

"Ah," she said, glancing to them, "I can heal that fairly easily, if you wanted," she said.

Cecil asked, "Could you? I mean, if you wouldn't mind.." as the angels were giving him looks.

"Of course," she grinned, gesturing for Carlos to show her his hands, "it's no trouble, and you can stop oozing all those concerned chemicals all over the place."

Cecil stiffened a bit, rubbing his neck and saying, "Sorry, I haven't had the chance to shower back home."

"It's alright, it's mostly testosterone anyways," she said, taking Carlos's hands and starting to heal them, "most wouldn't notice."

"Good, I guess," Cecil mumbled, glancing away as the angels chuckled. Josie grinned, focusing on Carlos's hands and ignoring that he was a bright red as well. Cecil glanced back to them, saying, "Thanks for healing him. Carlsburg couldn't even do that much."

"He's only human," Josie said, re-wrapping Carlos's hands anyways.

"Most useless one I've ever met," Cecil mumbled, folding his arms.

"I'm sure he's... got a purpose," Josie said, leaning back in her chair again.

Cecil frowned, sighing, "Don't we all," as the angels looked a bit uncomfortable, shifting in place.

"Even if it's to cause other problems," Josie said, "I wish I could catch him practicing necromancy to out him."

Cecil said, "I looked for his setup, but he had concealed it with magic. I doubt he'd practice it with his apprentice in the house."

"I had no idea until Cecil told me," Carlos admitted.

One of the taller angels nearby Josie said, "We could search his house for you, if you like. We can stay as discreet as we need to be."

Cecil shook his head, saying, "He might have sensors in his house to warn him if anything of higher power is snooping around."

"Do you know why he's practicing it?" Carlos asked, Josie shaking her head.

Cecil shrugged, "He'd ask me a few things about it but never really said why he was doing it. He threatened to punish me if I told anyone," making him rub a spot on his side under his shirt.

Carlos frowned, Josie saying "I can't force action until I know it's a dangerous problem."

Cecil sighed, "I know, but that wasn't the point of our visit. We just...came to talk, I suppose, and take you up on your offer."

"Ah," she grinned, "any topics you were particularly interested in?”

"Not really," Cecil said, glancing to Carlos and knowing it was very likely Josie could tell he was lying.

"What were you curious about?" she said, not even acknowledging his answer.

Cecil said, "Well, um, we wondered...I mean, being strong as you are, we wondered if you were even...entirely human?" The angels stiffened and glared at Cecil, mumbling amongst each other.

"No," she said cheerfully, not seeming as insulted as the angels were.

Cecil said, "Knew it," under his breath, the angels giving Josie a surprised look.

"There's some elder being somewhere on my mother's side," she continued conversationally.

Cecil raised his brows, asking, "An Elder mated with a human, then?"

"Somewhere in there," she said cheerfully, "mother didn't like talking about it."

"I can imagine," Cecil said with surprise, realizing Carlos looked very lost. "I'll explain later," he added.

Carlos nodded, Josie saying, "Well, everyone's got an odd bird in the family."

Cecil chuckled, "Can't argue there. You wouldn't happen to have any cookies or something, would you?" he asked, trying to hide his excitement.

"Sure," she chuckled, "angels have a bit of a sweet tooth too."

The angels grinned sheepishly, one asking, "Do you want me to fetch them?"

"Sure, dear," she grinned, "the chocolate chip ones are fresh."

The angels grinned, the one who had offered to get them bowing and opening his wings, taking off to the kitchen. Cecil said, "How is it you always have baked goods?"

"It’s a hobby," she grinned, "and an enchantment on the batter."

"I should've known," Cecil chuckled, folding his tentacles into a chair, leaving room for Carlos.

Carlos hesitated and sat, Josie asking, "How long can you stay?"

Cecil said, "Carlsburg gave us an hour, and we've been here, what, ten minutes?" he looked to Carlos.

"It took twenty to get here, though," Carlos reminded him.

Cecil sighed, "So ten more minutes. I don't think he'd blow a gasket if you're a little late."

"Probably not," Carlos agreed.

"I've had to stay in my animal form around his house," Cecil informed Josie.

"Ah," she said, "you're a cat, I believe?"

"Yeah, and Carlsburg is allergic," Cecil smirked, keeping the tentacles as still as possible for Carlos' sake, even though he himself somewhat liked the feeling of them moving.

"Of course he is," she chuckled, "I sometimes miss my other form, but it's far more obvious."

"What was yours?" Cecil asked, knowing angels could turn into anything they wanted and confirming his suspicion she wasn't an angel.

"A bit of a surprise, actually," she grinned, "the neighbors wouldn't appreciate it"

Cecil raised his hands, saying, "Then I won't pry," as the angel that had left came back bearing a tray of assorted cookies.

"Maybe you'll see it one day," she grinned, taking one of the cookies to edge the others on. The angels grinned and grabbed one, the angel with the tray offering it to Carlos and Cecil. Cecil took one, nodding in thanks and taking a bite, humming in appreciation.

Carlos mumbled a shy "thanks," taking a chocolate chip cookie and finding that it was still warm.

Cecil took another bite and said, "You've still got it," waving the cookie to make his point.

"Thank you, dear," she chuckled, eating her own cookie.

Cecil checked the time, saying, "Shoot, we should probably head out in case of traffic."

"Unfortunately," Carlos sighed, Josie saying, "I don't want to delay you."

Cecil said, "It's no trouble, Josie. May we visit when we get more time?"

"Of course," she grinned, "it's no problem."

Cecil nodded, "Thanks. Hopefully we'll find time to come back," as he retracted the tentacles, waiting for Carlos to stand.

Carlos stood, saying, "Thank you," as Josie stood as well.

The angels bowed rather than said a normal goodbye, Cecil not putting a hand on Carlos' back until he heard the door shut behind them.

Carlos sighed, saying, "Well, that solved that question."

"And left many more," Cecil sighed, "such is the way of getting an answer easily."

"At least we're on the right path," Carlos said, glancing up at the sun again and wondering if Cecil was cold.

"Indeed," Cecil said, showing no signs of being chilled, even being bathed in sunlight.

"When do you want to go back home?" Carlos asked.

"Like...demon realm home?" Cecil asked. "Because, I wouldn't mind staying a bit longer here. At least until I've answered whatever questions are on your mind."

"I don't want to keep you stuck here," Carlos said.

"You're not," Cecil insisted. "I enjoy the time here, now."

"Just let me know when you want to go home," Carlos sighed, noting that they were fairly close to the house.

"Alright," Cecil said, noting this as well and turning into a cat, continuing to walk beside Carlos' feet without needing to pause.

"I wish you didn't have to go into a cat form all the time," Carlos sighed, opening the front door.

Cecil said, "I can manage. Besides, I'll try to stick to my human form so long as Carlsburg isn't around." Carlos nodded, calling out that he was back and heading upstairs to his room.

Cecil trotted after him as they heard Steve say, "Welcome back. Meet me whenever you're ready." Carlos nodded, opening his door and letting Cecil go through first.

Cecil trotted through, saying, "He's going to regret that," as he turned into a human, turning to half face Carlos.

"Yeah, well," Carlos said, putting his hands in his pockets and frowning, pulling out a small packet he didn't remember putting in there.

"What's that?" Cecil asked, as Carlos' fingers were blocking the view.

"Uhh...." he frowned, realizing it was a few small packets of lubricant that he didn't own and really not wanting to show Cecil.

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "Yeah?" slowly.

"I... don'tknownothing," he said, shoving it back into his pockets.

Cecil narrowed his eyes, a slow smirk forming on his face as he said, "Oh really?"

Carlos turned red, saying, "Really, it's not mine. I don't know where it came from."

"But what was iiit?" Cecil grinned evilly, taking a step towards Carlos.

"Nothing," he said, taking a step back. Cecil grinned further, making a playful growl and using tentacles to keep the door shut and grab Carlos' arm. "Really," Carlos said, his face completely red, "it's really, really not mine."

"It just looked like a wrapper or something," Cecil said. "The longer you hide it the more curious I'm getting."

Carlos covered his face with his hands, mumbling, "Someone put lube in my pocket," through his fingers.

Cecil blinked, the tentacles slowly receding into tattoos as he said, "You...um..." and immediately figured it was safe to blame Josie. "Yeah you can dismiss me any time now.” Carlos nodded, his face still in his hands. "That's...I need the word," Cecil said, also blushing purple and glancing away.

Carlos mumbled, "Ralon," into his hands, not looking up to make sure he actually left. Cecil took the command, fading off and wondering how long it'd take for Carlos to call him back. Carlos hit his head against the nearest wall, digging the packets out of his pocket and shoving them deep into a drawer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> josie you lil shit <3 yeah there are gonna be some dirty refs in here once in awhile but nothing truly explicit


	24. The Search Goes On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't mind me and my terrible chapter titles

Carlos didn't emerge from his room until his face was no longer red. By that time, Steve was sitting in the courtyard waiting with a notebook he seemed to be making calculations and writing notes in, shutting it when Carlos entered the area. "Ah, there you are," Steve said, beckoning him in.

"Hi," Carlos said, heading over.

"Hopefully I won't be taking up much time," Steve said. "I have a few errands to run for today and a bit of tomorrow, so I'm trusting you with a bit more free-roam than usual in the house. You're still not to use that pentagram, but otherwise, you're free to mix up potions for practice or try out new spells out of any of those spell tomes on the shelf in my study."

"All right," Carlos said, wishing he didn't have a free day right after what had just happened.

"I'll be leaving you alone in the house for a couple hours today, and I'll probably be gone in the morning by the time you're up. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, far as food goes," Steve said. "Any questions?"

"No, not really," Carlos said, not letting how suspicious that sounded show.

"Alright. If you don't mind, I'll leave a small list of things you can do for me as far as preparing certain ingredients," Steve said. "Mind you, you don't have to, but I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Alright," Carlos repeated, knowing from experience that meant he had to do it.

"Thank you," Steve said. "Anyway, I figured I owed you a fair warning. If you can't think of any questions now, then you're dismissed to do what you will."

"Thanks," Carlos said, grabbing a few books from the library to read, to give him more time to kill before he could summon Cecil at noon.

At noon, Carlos marked the page of his book and set it aside, standing by his pentagram after moving the rug and performing the usual summons. Quite contrary from the usual, though, was the way Cecil appeared (thankfully his back to Carlos), stark naked and looking full of water, humming something to himself and adding quietly sung lyrics once in awhile, scaled tail swishing back and forth to the tune of whatever he was singing.

Carlos blinked, staring at him for a moment as his brain processed before he yelped, "aaaAAGH SORRY RALON SORRY."

Cecil blinked as well, opening his eyes and noting the change in surroundings, yelping, "BY THE VOID," and disappearing quickly. Carlos turned red again, face planting into his bed and thinking that that didn't help the awkward situation at all. 

Carlos found he didn't quite have the mental stability to summon him again right away, especially as a few minutes would be seconds in the demon realm and Cecil likely wouldn't have had time to finish showering. So it was that he tried again at sunset, a now fully-clothed Cecil appearing in the pentagram. Carlos was staring at the wall, his face a deep red as he cleared his throat.

Cecil raised a brow, saying, "I know I'm easy to miss, but summoning me in the middle of a shower?" he smirked, not appearing mad about the situation.

"Accident," he mumbled.

Cecil chortled, "It's alright. I'm sure it's easy to forget the time differences. I had only been in the shower a couple minutes when you apparently called."

"Mhm," Carlos mumbled, studying the floor.

Cecil tilted his head, asking, "Something wrong?" as he had wiped the memory of the lube incident from his mind as soon as possible.

"Nothing," Carlos said, clearing his throat, "Steve is gone."

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "Really? Don't suppose he said where to?"

"No," Carlos said, wishing he could stop automatically picturing Cecil naked.

Cecil sighed, "Figures," as he sat on Carlos' bed, "but at least he's out of the house. The whole air of the place is better without him."

"I'm sure you think so," Carlos chuckled, rubbing his hand through his hair.

Cecil crossed his legs on the bed, tilting his head and asking, "Is that a nervous habit or something?"

"Is what a nervous habit?" Carlos said.

"Running your hand through your hair," Cecil said. "You do it a lot."

"I do?" Carlos said, looking at his hand as if he expected it to hold an explanation.

Cecil chuckled, "Yeah, but I don't blame your hand. Your hair is nice; I want to touch it all the time."

"I think I just do it when i'm thinking," Carlos said.

Cecil grinned, "Ah, makes sense," as a tentacle uncurled from his arm and ruffled Carlos' hair.

Carlos ducked out of the way, chuckling, "Anyways, Steve said he'd be gone all night."

Cecil said, "Ah, that's...impressive. Was there a uh...reason you brought me, then?" trying to keep the blush out of his cheeks.

"I was wondering if I’d be able to help look around for necromancy stuff," Carlos said, "also it gets boring."

"Oh, um, right," Cecil said, standing off the bed. "Sure, we can do that."

Carlos nodded, standing as well and saying, "I’ve also been doing research on summoning."

"Oh?" Cecil asked. "Is this about locking my summoning spell?"

"A bit, yeah," Carlos said, "I think there might be a way to do it."

Cecil raised a brow, saying, "Well, I'm listening," as they walked down the hall.

"I'm still researching it," Carlos said, "I think it said it makes it so that only one person could summon you, but it started talking about possible side effects"

Cecil frowned, saying, "If there's even the remote chance of you getting hurt, I don't want you trying it for my sake."

"No, I don’t think those are the side effects," Carlos said, "shouldn't affect me."

"Ah, well, go on then," Cecil said, suddenly unbothered.

"It wasn't really clear, but it claimed that it might be possible that you wouldn't be able to be summoned anymore after I’m dead," Carlos said.

Cecil frowned a bit at that, saying, "Oh," slowly, as the thought of Carlos dying hadn't truly occurred to him.

"That'd be a bit of a while away, though, hopefully," Carlos said.

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "Hopefully, yes. But even after you're...well. I don't know if I'd enjoy a permanent retirement to my realm."

"I know, that's why I was a bit concerned," Carlos said, "there might be a way to un-cast the spell. Or it might not be a side effect."

"Seems like a bit of a risk, but I trust you can cast it right," Cecil said.

"Well, if you don't think the risk is worth it, I don't want to get you stuck here," Carlos said.

"Was being stuck here a different possible outcome?" Cecil asked.

"It might happen," Carlos admitted.

Cecil said, "To be honest, I think I'd prefer that."

"Well..." Carlos sighed, "we'll think on it."

Cecil nodded, "In the meantime, I've checked just about everything. The most promising thing was a cellar with almost nothing in it, but I searched it thoroughly and didn't find any traces of black magic that were different from the rest of them."

"Weird," Carlos said, "do you want to check again?"

"Might as well, if we've got nothing else to do," Cecil said, hooking a thumb in his pocket and feeling it brush something he knew he hadn't put there, as he rarely used his pockets. He waited for Carlos to be looking away before putting his hand in his pocket and guessing what the square packet was, whipping his hand out again and thinking he wouldn't tell Carlos about the condoms Josie slipped in his pocket.

Carlos glanced back, "We can start in the cella- are you alright?"

Cecil looked back to him, saying, "Hm? Yeah, fine," brushing it off, willing the blush to leave his cheeks.

"Alright...." Carlos said, glancing to him again but saying, "cellar first?"

"Yeah," Cecil nodded, wishing he could subtly open a rift to throw the condoms in to.

"All right," Carlos said, leading the way.

Cecil followed with as neutral an expression as he could manage, asking, "Assuming we have no luck, what do you want to do afterward?"

"I don't know, we can do whatever," Carlos said.

"Alright," Cecil said, nodding in thought. "I don't suppose you play cards?"

"Sure," Carlos grinned, "but I'm no good at poker."

Cecil chuckled, "We don't have to place real bets. Or we could bet things other than money."

"You want to bet with candy don't you," Carlos sighed.

"Maaaybe," Cecil said, something else entirely on his mind but figuring Carlos might not appreciate the joke given recent events.

"We can give the different flavors different values," Carlos said.

Cecil grinned, "Sure, but you might have to stop me from eating my 'chips'."

"True," Carlos sighed.

They reached the doors of the cellar, Cecil needing to unlock them and open them, asking, "You want me to go first?"

"If you want?" Carlos said. "You think there's something dangerous?"

"No, Carlsburg doesn't know the meaning of dangerous, or he'd never summon me," Cecil smirked, starting down the stairs. Carlos rolled his eyes, following him down and not sensing anything particular. Cecil shivered, mumbling, "Cellars like this are usually used for the summoning room. I'm glad Carlsburg at least has the decency to summon me to a warmer spot of the house."

"Why would you summon someone in the cellar?" Carlos asked, shrugging off the sweater he'd been wearing and plopping it onto Cecil's shoulders.

Cecil adjusted the sweater, saying, "Well, witchcraft is still seen as a sort of taboo, isn't it?"

"True," Carlos sighed, wrapping an arm around him and looking around.

Cecil purred softly, saying, "I didn't get the chance to look for hidden doors or anything, but even if there were any they're probably magically concealed as with the rest of his supplies."

"Of course," Carlos sighed, rubbing his back.

Cecil said, "We're also gonna get less done if you keep rubbing my back," as he didn't want to move. Carlos sighed, releasing him. "You're welcome to continue later," Cecil grinned, stepping away and running a hand along the wall. Carlos rolled his eyes, grinning and walking around, not really sure what he was looking for. Cecil hummed, "Hm, I'm not having luck. Being a bit new to the magic arts you might not be able to sense anything, but maybe you're more in tune to magic than I thought. Just walk around and see if you get a...I don't know, tingly feeling anywhere."

"...A tingly feeling," Carlos said, glancing to Cecil.

Cecil shrugged, "I don't know what it'd feel like for humans! Usually for a demon we just feel the pain of an anti-demon lock."

"I'll be on the look out for 'tingly feelings'," Carlos mumbled.

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "Just search," as he moved his hand up and down the bricks on the wall.

Carlos wandered in circles, saying, "I don't really sense anything."

Cecil knocked his head against the wall, groaning, "Then let's call it a night. I don't want to spend the whole evening searching unless you do."

"I don't think we're going to accomplish much," Carlos admitted.

"I can follow him around when he gets back," Cecil said. "Oh, maybe for poker when we lose chips we have to remove a clothing article," he smirked.

Carlos sighed, "Then we don't play with candy."

Cecil rubbed his chin, saying, "But you didn't disagree," with a slow smile.

"I'm not playing strip poker," Carlos said.

Cecil sighed, "Fine, we'll play with candy," as they went back upstairs.

"Good," Carlos sighed, following him up.


	25. Making Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again i find it hard to decide on chapter titles, and once again i apologize. we really write a lot of what probably looks like fill space chapters. and once again i can promise you the pace will pick up again soon :3

In about ten minutes, they had gathered up the supplies and moved to Carlos' room just in case Steve should return. In about ten more minutes, it was being proven that Cecil was indeed far better at poker. "This is because I have a terrible poker face," Carlos complained, his skittles rapidly dwindling.

Cecil grinned, "That's alright, demons have a lot of down time, so I have a lot of experience."

"So reassuring," Carlos sighed, losing his last purple skittle, to his dismay.

Cecil chuckled, "I can take it easy on you, if you want," as a tentacle scooted skittles closer to himself.

"No, that's no fun either," Carlos sighed, betting some green pieces.

"I'll bet higher for your sake, then," Cecil said, betting some red pieces.

"Fine," Carlos sighed, continuing with the game, which he in the end lost.

Cecil said, "Well, props for trying," as he started eating his spoils.

"Thank you," Carlos sighed, leaning back on his bed.

"You can still have some," Cecil offered, scooting a few skittles his way.

"Thanks," Carlos sighed, taking a red one.

"So, what now?" Cecil asked, snacking on a few more skittles. "You did still have some questions for me, I think."

"Not that I can think of, right now," Carlos said.

"I'm impressed," Cecil mumbled, thinking he'd have asked long ago about the scars.

"I'll think of something later, probably," Carlos said, "is there anything besides candy you'd eat for dinner?"

Cecil said, "Dunno, anything sugary...do you have ice cream?" thinking it wasn't more or less the same.

"Yes, but do you want anything not sugary?" Carlos said, "Human meals are savory."

Cecil frowned, "Can't have salt, and I'm a vegetarian, remember?"

"Oh," Carlos mumbled, "I forgot you couldn't eat salt. Uh... I could make... pasta without... no there's salt in the noodles. Uh..."

Cecil gave him a small smile, saying, "I'm glad you're trying, but it's fine. I'm not that hungry."

"Watermelon," Carlos said, "it's not a full meal but it's decent, and there's no salt."

Cecil shrugged, "Sure. Can we have ice cream anyway?"

"Yes," Carlos chuckled.

"Yesss," Cecil said softly, purring as he adjusted Carlos' sweater around his shoulders, smelling the scientist on it.

"Want a blanket?" he asked, standing again.

"I...alright," Cecil said sheepishly, not liking to admit when he was cold.

"It's fine," Carlos chuckled, grabbing a spare blanket and throwing it over the demon.

Cecil purred, shifting to burrow further under the blanket. "Should I take this with me?"

"Sure," Carlos said, "it's almost fall, I should find a better way to keep you warm."

Cecil said, "Hm, it's not fun being a sick demon. Our mucus is a bit...well...caustic."

"I didn't know you could get sick," Carlos said.

Cecil shrugged, "Sure, we get colds, mostly. That usually happens when we're summoned in the winter, actually."

"Because you get too cold?" Carlos said, leading him towards the kitchen.

"Mmhm," Cecil said. "I made the mistake of mentioning it to the guy who experimented on me."

"What'd he do?" Carlos frowned, heading into the kitchen and taking out the bowl of watermelon.

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "It had already been winter at the time and he demanded to know why I was being particular about not staying for long periods of time. He just...opened a window and shut the door to his summoning room and left me for a couple hours."

Carlos frowned, "Isn't that dangerous for you?"

"Yeah, I got a cold that almost turned into pneumonia," Cecil sighed. "Josie helped me out on that one."

"Didn't he know it was dangerous?" Carlos frowned.

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "I think if he was concerned about putting me in dangerous situations he wouldn't have scarred me like he did."

"You're explaining that, later," Carlos said, grabbing a box of noodles.

"I know," Cecil groaned, "but you're not gonna be happy about it."

"Lovely," Carlos sighed, setting hot water to boil.

Cecil adjusted the blanket, glancing away and saying, "Well, I lived. That's a plus," with a small smile.

"There is that," Carlos said, leaning over to kiss his cheek before salting the water, careful to keep the salt away from Cecil.

Cecil tilted his head, asking, "What are you making?" as he ate a cube of watermelon.

"Pasta," Carlos said, "you could have some, but there's salt..."

Cecil shrugged, "Y'know, I've never tried eating salt. If any part of it is dissolved or mixed with something else, it might be safely edible for demons."

"Maybe we should ask Josie; I don't want to risk it," Carlos said.

"Hm, maybe," Cecil said. "Then again, I could eat a single noodle and it'd only feel like...when you eat something hot and get a burn on your tongue. It wouldn't last long."

"I only will if you insist on trying," Carlos said, "and I wouldn't put it in the salted water."

"What, you mean you'd make separate pasta? If that's the case, don't worry about it," Cecil said, waving a hand.

"I'd just put another pot on," Carlos said, already reaching for it.

Cecil said, "What'd I just say? Don't worry about it." Carlos glanced to him, starting to fill the other pot. Cecil groaned, "Fine, just don't make too many in case I can't eat it," as he sat down.

"If you can't, I can," Carlos reminded him, starting the second pot to boil.

"Sure, but not all at once, I shouldn't think," Cecil countered. "I could at least help you if you show me what to do."

"Pasta is really easy, you just wait for water to boil, add pasta, and wait eight minutes," Carlos said, "it's nothing."

Cecil said, "I think I could manage that," as he stood, walking over and setting his head on Carlos'.

Carlos chuckled, staying still and saying, "You don't really have to do anything."

Cecil frowned, "But I feel bad doing nothing, and...I kinda like learning new things," as he hooked his hands in front of Carlos over his stomach.

"Then we have that in common," Carlos grinned, "but we've just got to wait for the water to boil"

"Alright," Cecil said, nuzzling into Carlos' hair and purring.

Carlos grinned, setting his hands on Cecil's and asking "we gonna sit?"

"We can, if it's gonna take awhile," Cecil said, a tentacle curling around Carlos' arms.

"It usually does," Carlos grinned, leaning his head back.

Cecil purred louder, another tentacle curling around Carlos' stomach below their hands. "Were we gonna sit?"

"Yes," Carlos said, "but you’ve trapped me."

Cecil snorted, "You don't seem to mind."

"I didn't say that," he chuckled, unwilling to move.

Cecil grinned, nuzzling his hair again and sighing, "Fine, we can sit down," and simply uncurled more of his tattoos to fold into a chair.

"That works too," Carlos said, sitting next to him.

Cecil didn't restrain his tentacles from moving so much this time, saying, "If you don't like them shifting I can hold them still."

"I don't mind," Carlos said, "water shouldn't take that long anyways."

"Alright," Cecil replied, one of the tentacles curling around Carlos' side as Cecil set his head on his shoulder. Carlos grinned, wrapping an arm behind his back and waiting for the water to boil. Cecil stayed quiet a minute before asking, "Um, totally random thought, but I'm a bit curious..."

"Mm?" Carlos asked, rubbing a hand on his back.

"Just...wondering if there was um...anyone in your life before meeting me you'd have considered dating," Cecil admitted. "I mean, if you're considering this dating, then why a demon?" he added quickly.

"A couple people I considered," Carlos said, "but I never could talk to them, they thought I was odd. I don't know, you were compatible with me i guess."

"Oh," Cecil said, thinking about it and chuckling, "well, they missed out, then."

"If you say so," Carlos chuckled, rubbing his thumb on his side. Cecil purred, trying to stretch his side towards Carlos' hand while still leaving his head on his shoulder, ending up shifting his tentacles to hold him almost sideways as he rolled onto his back. Carlos blinked at him, smirking lightly and asking, "All right there?"

"Mmhm," Cecil hummed, continuing to purr and adding, "my cat mannerisms become habits after awhile."

Carlos grinned, saying, "Do they?" as he rubbed Cecil's side.

Cecil mumbled, "Oh Void, what have I done," to himself, purring and rolling so the side Carlos was rubbing was facing up, stretching his arms in front of himself briefly before tucking them back closer to his chest.

"Oh my gods," Carlos mumbled, continuing to rub his side and back.

Cecil purred deeply, turning so his legs stayed put while his torso shifted so his back was facing up, mumbling, "If you're not careful, I'm going to end up removing my shirt."

"What a tragedy," Carlos smirked, running his fingertips over his side. Cecil hummed along with the purr, ending up with a low trilling sort of sound as his tentacles had to work a lot harder to keep them both lifted due to Cecil relaxing. Carlos continued to pet Cecil's back slowly, making a surprised noise when they suddenly plopped unceremoniously to the ground. Cecil didn't seem to notice or care, continuing to purr and cuddling against Carlos' side, ending up with his head on half of Carlos' lap as the tentacles slowly pulled themselves into tattoos again. Carlos chuckled, "Are you sure your true form isn't actually a cat?"

"Shaddup," Cecil mumbled, the purr seemingly constant as his tattoos wriggled across his skin happily.

"Eloquent," Carlos chuckled, continuing to pet him, "but the water's boiled."

"Uugghh," Cecil groaned, turning his head to be face-down on Carlos' leg. "Can it wait?" his muffled voice asked.

"It'll take me two seconds to put the pasta in," Carlos said.

Cecil groaned again but sat up, crossing his legs and sighing, "Alright," before starting to stand.

Carlos stood, pouring the box into the two pots and saying, "Ok, only thing left is for them to cook."

"Which was how long again?" Cecil asked inquisitively.

"About eight minutes," Carlos said, "they're elbow noodles."

Cecil tilted his head, asking, "You make pasta from people's elbows?" and giving the pasta an odd look.

"No, it's the shape," Carlos said, holding one out, "looks like an elbow."

"Ooohh," Cecil said, rubbing his neck, "right."

"I was confused when I was a kid too," Carlos chuckled, turning the heat down a bit and stirring. Cecil observed him cooking, mentally taking notes instead of picturing him with his shirt off. Carlos pulled out a strainer, saying, "I’ll have to drain yours first, and there's salt in my water, so stand back"

"Alright," Cecil said, taking an obedient step away.

Carlos strained them, careful to remember which was the unsalted pasta and asking, "Are you ok with butter?"

Cecil shrugged, "I have no idea. I think it's just sodium that bugs us, so...if there's salt in it..."

"Unsalted butter," Carlos said, "I was just checking that vegetarian, I know they usually eat butter, but..."

"Oh, yeah, I'll eat animal products. Isn't that known as veganism to a human?" Cecil asked.

"Yes, I was just checking," Carlos said, adding a bit of butter to the pasta. "Cheese is ok too?"

"Should be," Cecil shrugged. "I haven't tried a lot of human food."

"I'll leave it out for now," Carlos said, putting the pasta into two separate bowls and handing one to Cecil.

Cecil sniffed above the bowl, saying, "Hm, smells good," as they moved to sit at the actual table.

Carlos said, "Hope it tastes good," as he set water to boil for hot chocolate and got them both waters.


	26. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooray for longer chapters because i need to start catching you back up to the good parts *

Cecil took a fork Carlos handed to him and tried a noodle carefully, not bothered by the temperature and making an analyzing expression, humming, "It tastes...I don't know, spicy in a way. Like how spicy food burns your tongue by putting small cuts in it? I think that's how this is working."

"That's not really what..." Carlos sighed, "never mind. Do you think it's safe to eat?"

"Sure, I'll get used to it pretty quickly," Cecil said, taking a larger bite.

"It's not going to make you sick later?" Carlos asked, starting his own pasta.

"I don't think so," Cecil said. "However, I don't think any demon has been brave enough to try to ingest salt in any form, so it's hard to say. I can stop eating it if you'd feel better?"

"If you think it's safe, you can eat it," Carlos sighed, "but i want to ask Josie about it"

"Probably better to ask her before I eat it and possibly get sick, then," Cecil pointed out.

"Is there a way to call her?" Carlos asked.

Cecil said, "Well, technically, she told me once if you just sort've...call her, she'd hear and answer? I don't know if she'd appear physically or speak through a rift or something, but we could try."

"Call her?" Carlos asked, "like 'hey, old woman Josie, could you come here for a minute'?" There was a crack and Josie appeared, knitting a scarf and saying, "Yes, dear?"

Cecil blinked, looking back to Carlos and saying, "Yeah, like that."

"Oh," Carlos said, blinking at her and saying "..uh, hello."

"Sorry to disturb you, I know it's getting late," Cecil said with a half-wave.

"It's alright, dear," she said, Carlos adjusting and saying, "Sorry, I was just wondering about foods Cecil can eat."

Cecil said, "Carlos wanted me to try pasta, but it's reacting like spicy food on my tongue."

"Was there salt in the water?" she asked, Carlos shaking his head. "Come here, Cecil," she sighed.

Cecil stood and walked over, asking, "Yes?"

"Stick out your tongue," Josie said, letting go of the knitting needles and letting them float in midair. Cecil ignored the needles, sticking out his tongue with a slightly confused and worried expression. She grabbed one of the needles, using it as a depressor to check his tongue and throat and saying, "It should be fine, dear. If you have a stomach ache later it should be the worst of it. I think you can take a little salt if it's baked in with other things."

Cecil said, "Ahkay," around the needle, "thaks."

She removed the needle, saying, "No problem. Is that all?"

"I think so?" Cecil said, glancing to Carlos.

Carlos nodded, Josie saying, "All right, then. Nice seeing you." Carlos nodded again, saying, "Thanks for coming."

Cecil added, "And nice little joke, by the way," in reference to the gifts she had given them the day before.

"I was being serious," she said, smiling at them before disappearing, a lit candle appearing as she did.

Cecil glanced to it, mumbling, "Why did I mention it?" to himself as he observed the flame before taking another bite of pasta. Carlos's face turned red again, though he pretended not to notice the candle as he continued with his pasta. Cecil was right about the burning feeling going away the more he ate, licking his lips and saying when about half his bowl was empty, "We're still having ice cream, I hope you know that."

"Of course," Carlos chuckled, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair again. Cecil grinned excitedly, eating faster in anticipation for the dessert. Carlos rolled his eyes, finishing his noodles at about the same time and standing, grabbing the hot water to make hot chocolate and taking the ice cream out.

Cecil stood and asked, "Where are the bowls, or are we using cones?" as he carried his bowl to the sink.

"Bowls, we don't have cones," Carlos said, pouring hot chocolate mix into the mugs.

"Awh," Cecil pouted, rinsing the dish out and searching a few cupboards until he found the bowls, pulling out two and setting them by Carlos.

"Most people don't have them at hand," Carlos said, spooning out ice cream.

"It's alright, I think I can go without them," Cecil said, taking his bowl and licking his lips, resisting the urge to use his tongue to start scooping the ice cream out.

"I'm glad," Carlos chuckled, sitting and setting Cecil's hot chocolate in front of him. Cecil purred, taking a sip of hot chocolate and humming, grabbing the spoon in the bowl Carlos had put there and digging in to the ice cream. Carlos rolled his eyes, "You have an incredible sweet tooth."

"You think my teeth are sweet?" Cecil asked, not understanding the saying.

"Well, I haven't tested that," Carlos smirked, "but no, it's a phrase here that means you crave sugar."

"Oh, in that case, yes," Cecil said, ignoring the first half of his statement.

"Never mind," Carlos sighed, sipping his hot chocolate, which was an intense contrast to the ice cream.

Cecil completely ignored the contrasting temperatures, far too lost in the flavors and purring as he ate another spoon of ice cream and licked his lips, asking, "What would happen if you melted the ice cream into the hot chocolate?"

"Probably would just melt and make creamier hot chocolate," Carlos said.

Cecil rubbed his chin, eating a bite of ice cream and immediately taking a drink of hot chocolate, swishing the mix around in his mouth and humming before swallowing. "Delicious," he grinned.

"Glad you think so," Carlos chuckled, simply eating his ice cream normally.

Cecil dropped a plop of ice cream into his hot chocolate, mixing it in and leaving some normal ice cream on the side, sipping the creamier hot chocolate and saying, "You should make it like this more often."

"I'll remember," Carlos said, catching himself watching Cecil for a moment and re-focusing on his ice cream. Cecil wasn't paying attention to Carlos, taking a bite of ice cream and hating that he couldn't take larger bites without risking brain freeze. He used a longer tongue to catch falling drips, seeing as they weren't in public. Carlos refocused on his ice cream again, mentally chastising himself and taking a sip of hot chocolate. Cecil purred to himself, using his lips more than his teeth to bite off new ice cream from the spoon, as he found his teeth got cold quickly. 

Carlos started to say something, getting distracted by Cecil and sighing when his ice cream fell off his spoon and onto his lap. Cecil glanced up, pausing in taking a bite, having heard Carlos about to speak and seeing the ice cream fall. He looked to Carlos, slowly setting his own spoon down. Carlos mumbled a quiet curse, standing to go get a napkin.

Cecil's purr turned into more of a playful growl, grinning slowly as his pupil's dilated and he fully prepared to pounce Carlos to the floor if necessary. "Uh," Carlos said, glancing back to him as he half-reached for napkins, "are you ok?"

"Just fine," Cecil said, a tentacle shoving the table sideways as he stood, glancing to the spill on Carlos' lap.

"You sure?" Carlos said, glancing back to him and grabbing the napkin.

"Oh yes," Cecil said, a tentacle manifesting to grab Carlos' hand that was holding the napkin, walking closer and repeating, "just fine," as he walked forward.

"Uh," Carlos said, starting to get worried and backing up, though he wasn't sure what he was specifically worried about.

Cecil made the playful growl again, saying, "You spilled," in explanation, continuing to walk forward and licking his lips.

"Uh, yes, I did," Carlos said, backing up further.

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "I just figured you'd want help cleaning up, is all," with a grin.

"Napkin," Carlos said intelligently.

Cecil said, "Not quite," as he managed to back Carlos into the counter, kneeling down and using his longer tongue to lick most of the spill off, pinching the fabric of Carlos' pants in his teeth to suck more of the ice cream out.

Carlos nearly jerked back, saying, "Gods, Cecil!"

Cecil straightened, asking, "Yeah?" innocently and licking his lips again.

"...Nothing," he said, the countertop he was leaning on the only thing keeping him standing.

Cecil smirked, saying, "Oh? You should spill more often; tasted better that way." Carlos stared at him for a moment, ceasing to move entirely. Cecil snorted, "Come on, I'll let you get back to your ice cream in peace," as he remembered to release the tentacle around Carlos' hand. Carlos blinked at him again, a quiet whimper escaping his throat. Cecil turned his head to raise a brow at him, mumbling, "Oh dear, I broke you," as he turned around and brushed a lock of Carlos' hair back, giving him a kiss.

Carlos blinked, reactivating but saying, "That doesn't help."

"You started talking again," Cecil pointed out.

"Mhm," Carlos said, blushing crimson again and starting to clear his dishes.

Cecil grinned, saying, "You turn an interesting color when you blush," as he picked up his own bowl to slurp up some of the melted remains of his ice cream.

"You turn purple," Carlos pointed out.

"Yeah, but your darker skin mixed with the red makes it kind of...I don't know, oddly enticing," Cecil said.

Carlos blinked again, saying, "All right," faintly.

Cecil chuckled, "Are you gonna survive a relationship with me?"

"Probably," Carlos mumbled, starting to wash the dishes.

Cecil said, "I hope so," as he finished up his ice cream, setting the bowl by Carlos and drinking more hot chocolate.

Carlos washed the dishes in record time, setting them to dry and saying, "That's done."

"Now what?" Cecil asked, back to sitting and drinking his hot chocolate.

"Well," Carlos said, "it's getting a bit late."

"Ah, right," Cecil said, rubbing his neck. "You just wanna read before sleeping?"

"Sure," Carlos sighed, setting the rest of the ice cream away and heading towards his room. Cecil made a pouty expression he was only slightly thankful Carlos didn't catch, chugging the remains of his hot chocolate and following the young scientist. 

Carlos opened his door and let Cecil go first out of habit, glancing about and glad he'd tidied his room a bit. Cecil said, "I suppose if I'm spending the night again we should figure out what to do in case Steve comes home."

"You're my cat, remember?" Carlos chuckled, shutting the door.

"Yeah, but I more meant one of these days if he walks in to me sleeping next to you in this form," Cecil said, rubbing his arm.

"Oh," Carlos frowned, "maybe I just start locking my door."

"He probably has a spell for that," Cecil sighed. "Worth a shot anyway, I guess."

"He doesn't have a reason to violate my privacy yet," Carlos said, rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil made a bit of a disgusted face at Carlos' wording, saying, "True," all the same. He was purring shortly, saying, "Um...y'know, if you're gonna ask eventually, I kind of want to get the whole scars thing out of the way..."

"All right," Carlos said, "i was going to ask in a minute anyways." He sat on the bed, pulling Cecil with him. Cecil made a bit of a surprised sound, crossing his legs on the bed and not sure how to start or if Carlos had something in particular in mind he wanted to ask. "First question is how did he manage to scar you?" Carlos said, "I know you said tools, but.."

Cecil took a deep breath and said, "It took him a few tries to find anything successful. He thought maybe certain metals affected us like salt did, but when poking me with various sticks of metal didn't work, he...took to sharper instruments laced with the thing he knew would have an affect. That being salt water, as salt alone wouldn't stick to a knife for long."

"He cut you with knives dipped in salt water," Carlos said. "Did he have a real reason?"

Cecil shrugged, "Demon skin can't really be cut by normal means. He found that one out quickly, too. Things fired at high velocity like bullets can break our skin, sure, but if we make a little slipup with a knife it won't do much on its own."

"And he was just testing these out on you to find out what worked," Carlos frowned.

"He was...curious about demon anatomy, yes," Cecil said slowly, rubbing his neck.

Carlos frowned, "What else did he study about your anatomy?”

Cecil frowned, glancing away and saying, "Oh, y'know, reactions to things like...other minerals and electricity and heat tolerance..." voice dying out as he listed a few things.

Carlos was continuing to frown, saying, "Right."

Cecil stopped talking a minute and sighed, "Look, he was a bit insensitive. Pretty much all summoners are when it comes to their demons. We're supposed to be the stronger ones so we can do things they can't. It really wasn't all that bad," he tried, not wanting Carlos to get the wrong impression.

Not at all comforted, Carlos started, "But he's... that's not enough reason to just... fine."

Cecil said, "I'm glad to see you care, Carlos, but...don't let a dead man's actions get to you. All demons have had an unsavory conjurer at least once."

"It's just absurd that a lot of them don't seem to acknowledge that you're people too," Carlos sighed.

"We're not people," Cecil chuckled, albeit darkly. "If I've learned anything, I think humans treat demons badly because they know we're stronger. They fear us to such an extent that they'll do most anything to feel like they're in charge, and sometimes that requires thinking of your charge as below you, even to the extent of treating them like an animal."

"You're still individuals with thought and emotions and value," Carlos said, realizing he was about to start on a rant and sighing, "Never mind. Humans are a bit stupid sometimes."

Cecil snorted, "Only sometimes, though," before leaning over to kiss Carlos' cheek. "And if you think something like a demon form is hot, you seem like the type who'd actually like seeing scars rather than hearing the stories behind them."

"Sure," Carlos sighed, "to be honest it's a bit more concerning, to me."

Cecil rolled his eyes, sighing, "Well, yeah, you're that type too," as his tattoos manifested to pull his shirt off. As it happened, the twisting mess of tattoos left attached to his skin had to shift around, revealing that even when Cecil's shirt had been off, the tattoos had somehow been covering a mess of scars across his sides and abdomen, a couple on his back as well.

Carlos frowned, glancing up to Cecil again and saying, "That's an awful lot,” as he rubbed his thumb carefully over one near his shoulder.

Cecil's tendrils set his shirt aside, already folding it on their own accord. Cecil said, "Not all of them are from the one conjurer. I've gotten into some fights with other demons," as he didn't shy away from Carlos' hand.

"Did they use claws?" Carlos asked, studying the map of lines across his chest and seeing a few that appeared more serious and had more scar tissue than the others.

"Among other things, teeth included," Cecil said as though it were perfectly normal. "All demons have their fair share of battle scars. We don't really fight for dominance or anything, but sometimes we like to see who's stronger for the hell of it. Guess who usually wins that one," he smirked.

Carlos rolled his eyes, asking, "None of them still hurt?" just to be sure.

"Nah," Cecil said, "they leave their marks and go, as we say. Well..." he mused, frowning a bit in thought.

"What?" Carlos asked, noting a small ring of marks on Cecil's other shoulder that looked like a bite mark.

Cecil coughed quietly, saying, "I mean, there's one on my back that sort've...itches now and again, but it hasn't caused too much trouble," in an attempt to pass it off as better than it was.

"What's it from?" Carlos asked, resisting the urge to turn him around and look.

"You're...really not gonna like that story," Cecil warned. "It's from the same man who experimented on me."

"And?" Carlos prompted, failing to remove his hand from Cecil's shoulder.

"He ah...had a friend with similar interests," Cecil said. "They each conjured their strongest demon and set us against each other so they could 'observe how we survived', I think they put it."

"And it... bit you, or..." Carlos asked.

"We were in our demon forms. Let's say, sometimes a demon's true form can be very inhuman, and this one had ah...whip-like tails," Cecil said.

"It's itchy," Carlos said, "not painful? Are you sure it's not infected?"

Cecil rubbed his neck, mumbling, "It's entirely possible it had some sort of long-lasting venom in the barbs..."

Carlos frowned, "Can I see? There might be something I can do for it. How long ago was that?"

"It's been awhile," Cecil admitted, but shifted so Carlos could see it. Many of his tattoos branching from his spine had to shift to different parts of his skin to uncover the whole thing: a line stretching from Cecil's left shoulder blade to the base of his spine on the right of his body.

Carlos frowned, running a finger over it very lightly and asking, "Do human antibiotics work on demons?"

Cecil's muscles tensed a fraction, giving away that it was somehow still tender and saying, "No human has bothered to treat me with them. If I need healing, usually I go to Josie."

"But you didn't," Carlos sighed, standing and heading to the bathroom.

"Well, no, I didn't want her to be upset at the time. She'd have asked how I got it and then she'd have scolded the two conjurers..." Cecil explained.

"Mhmm," Carlos sighed, "we're going to have to ask later." he brought back a numbing antibiotic cream from his bathroom cabinet.

"It um..." Cecil said, swallowing and admitting, "it does still hurt on occasion. Is this cream stuff gonna sting?"

"No," Carlos said, "we'll ask Josie about a better solution next time we see her." He sat down behind him.

"Alright," Cecil said, relaxing his shoulders, as he trusted Carlos knew what he was doing. Carlos squeezed some out onto his hands, rubbing it onto the scar gently, moving carefully to avoid unnecessary pain. Cecil shut his eyes while purring softly, the sound being interrupted only when the wound stung a bit. His back arched towards Carlos' hand, resisting the urge to flat-out lean back into the human behind him.

After a moment Carlos finished, wiping his hands off on the sides of his shirt and saying, "That should handle it."

"Thanks, it's feeling better already," Cecil said, "though I imagine it's only a temporary solution?"

"We'll ask Josie later," Carlos agreed, kissing the side of his neck.

Cecil purred, leaning back further and saying, "Alright," as his tattoos shifted to rest over the scars again. Carlos smiled, switching back over to set the cream down and sit facing him, finding that he could still feel the scars through the tattoos. "How much longer did you plan on admiring?" Cecil asked after a moment.

"I was just curious" Carlos said, "we can sleep."

Cecil chuckled, "You mean you can. I'm not all that tired."

"I didn't figure," Carlos said, nuzzling his neck. Cecil grinned, not entirely sure why he did it but gave Carlos a hug, burying his nose in his hair again, a new favorite pastime. Carlos grinned and hugged him back, if carefully to avoid hurting his back. After a moment he said, "Should change," as he was in his jeans.

"Right, sure," Cecil said, releasing him and leaning back, setting his hands in his lap.

"Get comfortable," Carlos chuckled, rummaging for pj's and finding a pair to change into.

"Mmhm," Cecil hummed, watching Carlos with a brow raised.

Carlos put his dirty clothes in the hamper he had in the corner, returning and saying, "Candy in the drawer," as he turned out the lights.

"I know," Cecil said, glad demons had night vision, his in particular being strong as he was part cat.

Carlos climbed back onto the bed, staring at Cecil for a moment before asking, "Want to lie down?"

"Sure," Cecil said, realizing he had been staring at Carlos and shifting to lie down. Carlos couldn't resist kissing his forehead, wrapping an arm around him carefully. Cecil sighed, "You don't have to treat me delicately now that you know about the scar," as he wrapped a tentacle around Carlos' side with his own arm, another tentacle curling around Carlos' ankle.

"I know you're not fragile, I just don't want to cause unnecessary pain," Carlos said.

"Believe me, I've had worse," Cecil said, trailing his hand down Carlos' back, "after awhile you barely feel the smaller aches and pains."

"Mhmm," he sighed, tucking his head under Cecil's chin.

Cecil purred softly, saying, "Goodnight, perfect Carlos," in his richer-than-normal voice.

Carlos snorted, kissing the scar on his shoulder and saying, "'night, Cecil."


	27. Nightmares and Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im startin to fall behind on that daily update thing, my bad

As usual, Cecil didn't mean to fall asleep that night. He yawned, stretching his arms and realizing his tentacles were wrapped a bit tightly around Carlos, immediately loosening them in worry, as he knew his tattoos could have a strong grip. Carlos didn't seem to have noticed, as he was asleep with his back pressed against Cecil's chest and with one of his arms still hugging a tentacle. Cecil blinked when he realized Carlos' position, shrugging and purring, replacing his arm around Carlos' side and nuzzling the back of his neck.

Carlos shifted, mumbling something and half rolling over, mumbling, "Morning."

"Mornin'," Cecil said, continuing to burrow his nose into the crook of Carlos' neck.

"Mm," Carlos sighed, on the whole unwilling to move in the slightest. Cecil grinned, suddenly curious and slowly licking a line up Carlos' neck. Carlos froze, saying "...Uh..." suddenly wide-awake.

Cecil chuckled, "Human reactions are interesting things," and simply rested his forehead on the back of Carlos' head.

"Mhmm," Carlos said, still stock still and remaining such for a long moment before saying "you slept?"

"Unwillingly, I might add," Cecil said. "I never mean to fall asleep--you have that effect."

"I'm glad I put you to sleep," Carlos sighed, turning around to face him.

"I'm not, it's weird," Cecil said, shifting his arm and tentacles up so Carlos could move. He repositioned them behind Carlos' back, settling comfortably.

"That I make you sleepy?" Carlos said, "we could add that to the ask-Josie list."

"Yeah but she could make up an excuse to embarrass us for that one," Cecil pointed out.

"I don't think she'd lie about the cause," Carlos said, "though teasing should be expected."

"Given recent events, I'd agree," Cecil sighed, much like Carlos unwilling to move.

"I'd have to say so," Carlos sighed, "she's rather determined."

Cecil snorted, "You can say that again," before he froze, tilting his head to hear better. Carlos didn't seem to notice, unmoving until he started to hear the door handle turn. He sucked in a breath, doing the first thing he could think of and throwing a pillow over Cecil.

Cecil made a muffled sound, Steve opening the door and saying, "Oh, Carlos. You _are_ awake," before he glanced to the larger lump on the bed. "Um..." he started, pointing to the pillow before they heard a disgruntled meow. Steve blinked, "What are you doing?"

"Khoshekh jumped me and scared me," Carlos said, not the best excuse but the first thing he could think of on the fly.

Steve snorted, "Ah, so long as you're not mistreating him all the time, I suppose." The cat scrambled out from under the pillow, shaking his head and torso and giving Carlos an irritated look to sell the act. Steve chuckled, "Anyway, I popped in to let you know I'll be heading out again shortly, should be back this afternoon."

"Oh," Carlos said, sitting up fully, "ok. Do you need help with something?"

"No, no, I'm prepared to leave. I was going to get some breakfast and go," Steve said dismissively.

"Alright," Carlos said, "what are you doing?"

"I have to pick up some supplies, I'm meeting up with the seller. Trading with anything in the magic arts has to be done discreetly, I'm sure you can guess," Steve said.

"Oh, right," Carlos said, "ok."

"Well then, I'm off after I grab a little breakfast. Don't burn down the house while I'm gone," he said, semi-shutting the door and walking back down the hall.

Cecil waited until he heard his footsteps going down the stairs before he mumbled, "I thought you said he'd be gone through the night."

"I thought that's what he said too," Carlos frowned, "maybe he wanted to check I didn't summon you."

Cecil frowned, "Maybe you just misinterpreted him. In any case, your pillow stunt worked."

"Thank gods," Carlos sighed, lying back down.

Cecil said, "I can't imagine how he would've taken to it otherwise," with a shiver, crawling onto Carlos' stomach and curling up, tucking his front paws under his chest.

Carlos sighed, rubbing his back and murmuring, "We _do_ have to be more careful."

"I know, it's partially why I shouldn't fall asleep next to you so often," Cecil said.

Carlos mumbled, "I know, I know."

Cecil made a groaning noise, curling into a new position and tucking his nose under his paw. "Did you want to sleep in more?"

"Too late," Carlos sighed, "I’ll read here, though."

"Alright," Cecil's response was muffled by his nose under his arm. "Just carry me down whenever you're ready to go, I guess."

"Ok," Carlos chuckled, grabbing a book from his nightstand and petting Cecil's back. Cecil made a rumbling purr of content, loving the warmth of Carlos' stomach and tucking his tail in to complete the ball-of-fluff look. Carlos grinned, thumbing through his book and reading with one hand holding the book open, the other petting Cecil.

Cecil hardly twitched, except for his ear on occasion, ending up falling asleep again. His nose twitched, making a short, quiet growling noise in his sleep. Carlos paused in reading, grinning and continuing to pet Cecil slowly. Cecil's side twitched and he uncurled slightly, paw twitching as he made the growl again. Carlos grinned again and he rubbed Cecil's back, deciding to ask Josie about Cecil's sudden sleeping habit.

In about ten more minutes, Cecil suddenly weighed a bit more and was growing larger, staying relatively in a fetal position but ending up shirtless with his torso curled mostly on top of Carlos' stomach and his legs to Carlos' left. His back was still being pet by Carlos, who didn't mind the change and thought he, if possible, looked cuter. Cecil made a quiet humming sound mixed with a purr, shortly followed by something sounding much more like a whimper. Carlos hesitated, pausing in his reading again and becoming quiet to make sure he'd heard right.

Cecil made a similar sound, flinching as his muscles tensed and hit tattoos writhed over his skin. After a hesitation, a frowning Carlos realized he must be having a nightmare and patted his shoulder, saying, "Hey, wake up," quietly.

Cecil sat up impossibly fast, growling much less playfully than the night before as his tentacles practically shot off his skin, one impaling the floor presumably for balance and another grabbing the ceiling as another pressed against Carlos' chest firmly. Cecil blinked, able to tell his pupils had changed to ellipses and that he had grown claws. The pressure of the tentacle on Carlos' chest lessened as Cecil panted, realizing he had been dreaming and saying, "Um...sorry," sheepishly, the tentacles in the floor and ceiling not moving.

Carlos sat up slowly, asking, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just...give me a minute," Cecil said, finally able to slowly retract his tentacles, still looking a bit shaken.

"Nightmare?" Carlos asked, giving Cecil some space for the time being. Cecil simply nodded, waiting for his pupils to cooperate and return to normal as he retracted his claws as well. "Want to talk about it?" Carlos asked, opening his arms to offer a hug.

Cecil gave him a sideways look, frowning but scooting closer all the same. "Not really, just...you were there, but you weren't really you."

"I wasn't me?" Carlos frowned, setting a hand on his back carefully.

"It was um...you as I'd have expected, originally. Just like any other summoner--punishing for the slightest of things," Cecil said, glancing away and rubbing his arm.

"I’m never going to do that," Carlos said, wrapping his arms around him properly.

Cecil shut his eyes, leaning into Carlos and saying, "I know. It was still a bit startling."

"I'd imagine it would have been," he sighed, resting his head on top of Cecil's and starting to rub his back, "it's alright."

Cecil started purring, mumbling, "I know," as he made himself relax, hearts still beating a bit fast but calming down as Carlos worked his magic.

"Trust me, I don't think I could hurt you even if for some god forsaken reason i had to," Carlos said.

Cecil snorted, "I certainly hope you'd place your own health before mine, if that's what you're getting at."

"We'll see," Carlos said, continuing to listen to his hearts slowing.

Cecil took a deep breath, saying, "I'll ah...fix the holes in the floor and ceiling for you," as he glanced to the ones on the floor.

"Thanks," Carlos chuckled, "that'd be a bit hard for me to explain."

Cecil chuckled, "A bit, yeah," as a tentacle uncurled itself, stretching up and using some form of magic to duplicate the material the ceiling was made with and stretch it over the hole. "Magic is useful," Cecil grinned, using a similar treatment on the floor.

"It is," Carlos grinned, kissing his cheek, "you alright?"

"Better now," Cecil said, moving the tendril to wrap around Carlos' side. "Maybe better if I had candy and a kiss."

"Sweet tooth," Carlos chuckled, giving him a brief kiss and shifting to get a packet of skittles.

"Though you said you hadn't tested that yet," Cecil smirked.

"Is that an invitation?" Carlos smiled, sitting back down and handing him the skittles.

"Maybe," Cecil said, tearing the bag open but not eating any yet in case Carlos was being serious.

"Ok," Carlos chuckled, leaning forwards and kissing him, this time shifting a hand to his jaw. Cecil raised a brow but didn't question it, pressing back as the tentacle around Carlos' back tightened. Carlos continued kissing him for a moment, at length pulling away and murmuring, "I don't know, seemed kind of sweet."

Cecil said, "You're welcome to test it any time. You know, to see if they change flavor or anything," he smirked.

"I'll have to keep careful records," Carlos said solemnly, kissing him again briefly. Cecil snorted but allowed the kiss, moving his tongue back to make room for the scientist's and curling more tentacles around him. After another moment Carlos pulled away again, resting his forehead against Cecil's.

Cecil purred deeply, asking, "So, what are the results of today's experiment?"

"You've got a serious sweet tooth," Carlos grinned, hugging him again.

Cecil hugged him back, saying, "I thought I might," as he tucked his chin over Carlos' shoulder.

Carlos rested like that for a moment before saying, "We should ask Josie about your sleeping, though."

"If you really want to," Cecil sighed, pulling back. "What's curious about it?"

"Do you normally sleep, ever?" Carlos asked.

Cecil said, "I thought I've been over this. Demons _do_ sleep, we just don't need to as often, so we usually choose not to. That and probably something about wanting to make sure we don't get mauled in our sleep. It's...a vulnerability thing I guess."

Carlos smiled slightly at that, saying, "But you've slept almost every night this week."

"Because I've had someone to watch my back," Cecil said. "Demons don't really room together unless, in the very rare case, two demons get together."

"Ah," Carlos said, "I guess that makes more sense. Do demons get together often?"

Cecil said, "I...just said it's a rare thing. Usually demons can only get along as far as agreeing not to kill one another. Demons get friendlier when they're drunk, actually, so the bar is a nice place to hang out. Female demons get ah...used a lot, I'll admit, but they don't mind the attention so long as it stops the males from fighting them."

"Do demons tend to date?" Carlos frowned.

"Not really," Cecil sighed. "If they do, it never lasts long. None of us really trust each other, but we do make pacts with one another to help out if we see them in a tight spot."

"So why are you dating me?" Carlos asked, frowning further in confusion.

Cecil blinked, "Well, for one thing, humans are...a lot less complicated to figure out. I wouldn't be surprised if most demons would prefer dating a human to another demon. Stories of demons falling for their summoner is a much more common story in our realm, actually."

"The summoner allows that?" Carlos asked, tilting his head.

"Unfortunately, not always," Cecil frowned. "It's a common story, but a rare occurrence. Humans almost never trust their demons."

Carlos sighed, saying, "I'm surprised you trust me."

Cecil's lip twitched into a smile, "I think I trusted you the first night you summoned me on your own. I do learn quickly; under those circumstances, you just...made it easy to trust you."

"I probably shouldn't have trusted you as quickly as I did," Carlos admitted.

"No, you shouldn't have," Cecil chuckled. "It's a mistake you can be sure not to repeat with any other demons you might summon some day."

"Right," Carlos sighed, after a moment asking "why... didn't you kill me."

Cecil thought, admitting, "I was considering it," slowly. "But...given what I had guessed about your story, why you came here and everything else...you just didn't deserve it, and I knew by your age you still had a lot to live for."

"Oh," Carlos said, quiet for another moment before saying, "I sometimes forget that you could kill me now if you wanted."

Cecil said, "That was proved mere minutes ago," with a frown. "Humans are...frail creatures, to be frank. It's another reason demons and humans were just never compatible. They die out so quickly..." his voice trailed off. He snorted softly, "Guess that's another reason I like spending time here--makes it seem like you're lasting longer."

Carlos sighed, wrapping him in another hug and saying, "I’m not going anywhere for a while."

"You'd better not," Cecil said, manifesting extra tattoos for the hug and burying his nose in Carlos' neck. Carlos started rubbing his back, unable to help that he rocked him back and forth slightly. Cecil purred, entirely willing to stay like that through the day. After a moment, however, he said, "You also wanted to ask Josie about the scars," as a reminder.

"We'll do that today," Carlos said, nuzzling Cecil's shoulder.

"Just checking that you remember," Cecil said, one of his tentacles slipping under the fabric of Carlos' shirt to rub his side.

"I remember," Carlos chuckled, resting like that for a moment before asking, "breakfast?"

Cecil groaned, "I guess," as he was feeling particularly unwilling to move.

"Come on," Carlos chuckled, kissing his cheek before picking him up. Cecil made a surprised yelp, only partially regretting he had told Carlos he usually weighed as much as his cat form, unless he was in his demon form. Carlos grinned, shifting his arms and chuckling "I’ve got you."

Cecil said, "I know, but I wasn't expecting to be picked up in this form," as he tucked his legs in to make himself easier to carry.

"I can put you down if you want," Carlos offered, heading to the kitchen.

"I said I wasn't expecting it, not that it was uncomfortable," Cecil clarified.

"All right then," Carlos said, only setting him down once they were in the kitchen.


	28. Cold

Cecil had to take a step once he was set down to get his legs working, asking, "Do you have waffles? Josie made them for me once with strawberries."

"I think there's stuff to make waffles," Carlos said.

"If not, pancakes work too," Cecil said, sitting at the table. "Do you have juice?"

"Sure, go ahead," Carlos said, "I know how to make pancakes better."

"Alright," Cecil said, having to make a few guesses with the cabinetry again before finding the cups, opening the fridge and taking out the grape juice.

Carlos started on pancake mix, getting the griddle heated and saying, "You're ok with eggs in the batter?"

"Sure," Cecil said, "but I might exhaust your supply of syrup."

"Just don't drink it," Carlos chuckled, cracking eggs.

"Josie let me drink it," Cecil mumbled, sipping his juice.

"Josie probably had more of it," Carlos said, greasing the pan.

"Fair enough, I think it's like alcohol to the angels," Cecil said.

"Really?" Carlos asked, pouring batter in and thinking to add chocolate chips.

"I mean...I don't think they get drunk off it, but it's addictive to them, for some reason," Cecil said. "Maybe it's the maple. Only an angel would be able to tell you."

"Or Josie," Carlos said, flipping the pancakes.

"Or Josie," Cecil nodded in agreement, taking a larger drink. Carlos spent another ten minutes making pancakes, grabbing syrup from the fridge and sliding the plate over. "Smells yummy," Cecil said, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Have at it," Carlos said, snagging a blanket from the living room and draping it over Cecil's shoulders.

Cecil purred, saying, "You're such a spoiler," as he started on his pancakes, using far more syrup than strictly necessary.

"I don't want you to get cold," Carlos chuckled, eating his own somewhat smaller stack which he added a tiny bit of salt to, as he hadn’t salted the batter.

Cecil grinned as he ate, saying, "I'm glad you care," around a mouthful. He swallowed and said, "Hm...now that I think about it, though, I probably should visit my home realm sometime today. Missing twelve-hour human nights is putting me behind on current events."

"I can send you back whenever you want," Carlos said, "I don't mind."

"I'm thinking after breakfast, since I won't be in a cheerful mood when the sun gets higher," Cecil said.

"True," Carlos said, "that's fine with me."

"I wouldn't summon me again until sunset, or midnight if you're up for staying awake," Cecil said. "Who knows how long I'll need at home."

"Sure," Carlos said, "if you need to go back when I summon you just tell me." He finished his pancakes.

Cecil chuckled, "Or you could interrupt my shower again," with a wide grin. Carlos blushed glancing up to study the ceiling. Cecil said, "Feel free to. Nicest shower I've had in awhile," he smirked, taking a drink of juice. Carlos stood to clear his dish, starting the water to begin washing the pans. Cecil watched him, feeling highly amused and wondering if he could embarrass Carlos to the point of making him want to dismiss him. He said, "Don't act like you didn't enjoy it a little, too."

Carlos cleared his throat, saying, "I closed my eyes."

"Mmhm, after watching a bit I'm sure," Cecil said, drinking more juice.

"How long did you want to stay after breakfast?" Carlos asked.

Cecil sighed, giving up his endeavor for the time being and saying, "I don't know, maybe about thirty minutes? The longer I stay the harder it will be to leave."

"True," Carlos replied, glad he'd dropped it.

Cecil started on his pancakes again, glad the syrup hadn't made them soggy yet and saying, "You're a good cook."

"Thanks," Carlos chuckled, filling the sink with soapy water.

"Did you learn how at home, I s’pose? Teach yourself, I mean?" Cecil asked, taking another bite.

"My dad used to cook a lot," Carlos said, "he taught me a lot."

"Ah, sounds nice," Cecil said with a thoughtful expression.

"It was," Carlos grinned, rinsing the big bowls and griddle. Cecil wanted to ask what it was like having a biological family, but figured given recent events, the serious question could wait for some other time. He finished up his pancakes and brought his plate to Carlos, handing it over sheepishly, as it was licked clean. Carlos grinned, taking the dish and saying, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Cecil said, going to grab his juice and chugging the remains.

Carlos washed the rest of the dishes, rinsing them and putting them out to dry, asking, "Anything before you go?"

"Just this," Cecil said, putting an arm around Carlos and tugging him into a kiss.

He smiled, wrapping an arm behind Cecil's back and kissing him back for a moment before murmuring, "See you."

"Sooner than later, I hope," Cecil grinned.

Carlos grinned, kissing his cheek and saying, "Ralon."

~~~~~~~~

Cecil was sitting in a bar, not drinking the black sludge they called alcohol in respect to Carlos. He was talking to certain demons who knew him, Hiram McDaniels and Dana among them. Dana wasn't one for drinking either, and she and Cecil went way back in demon terms. Cecil was in the middle of sharing a story when he felt a familiar tug of being summoned, mumbling, "That time already? Sorry, I think that's him now," as he waved goodbye to the few demons he called friends and felt the new coldness of the human realm, if a bit colder than normal. 

He started to say, "Miss me, did you?" before he actually looked at his summoner, being Steve. Cecil blinked, suddenly very glad he hadn't mentioned Carlos' name upon being summoned. 

Steve had his arms crossed, saying, "You could say that," in a tone far from amused.

Cecil cleared his throat, immediately becoming more serious and saying, "I suppose you want an apology?" as he scanned the room, noting it wasn't the usual summoning room and that he was in part of Steve's house he'd never been in, but due to the temperature he figured it must be somewhere below ground. 

Steve snorted, "Don't be absurd. I know you won't apologize, and if you did it'd mean nothing. I was generous enough to give you time at home to heal before bringing you here."

Cecil narrowed his eyes, already disliking where this was going and asking, "So what do you want?" cautiously.

Steve said, "I want to try a new means of teaching you to behave. I've discussed it with Lauren, and she says she punishes Kevin most often by leaving him in a cold room for a few hours. I'm hoping a similar treatment will work on you."

Cecil swallowed, saying, "If you leave me in temperatures like this..."

"You might get sick, I know," Steve said, turning and walking towards the exit, "but if it's the only way to correct your behavior, so be it. I've tried better means of it, but you brought it on yourself," he growled, shutting the door and leaving Cecil trapped in a pentagram, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thus the plot thickens *shifty eyes* also who caught the use of the title at the end there? clever eh? *cricket* *cricket* yeah i know


	29. Savior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you're all only getting this chapter now because I've got a 6 hour car-ride to WI coming up and I'm already awake late enough as is. point being I won't be able to update this for a couple days, probably, but we'll see. depends on the internet connection at my grandparents house. you can always read the beginning of our new Marauders fic if you get bored *nudge nudge wink wink*

Carlos went about his normal day, glad he'd cleaned breakfast and the incredible number of candy wrappers before Steve had gotten home. His teacher had then promptly set him to work preparing ingredients past sunset, to Carlos’ disappointment. He decided to summon Cecil at midnight, instead of waiting till morning, but it was definitely not because he missed him. He was still in pj's, though, when he did summon him, saying the incantation and waiting for a minute.

The spell didn't work. He frowned, trying again and realizing that something was definitely wrong-- Cecil said the only time he couldn't be summoned was when he was already in this realm, but Steve was well asleep. He got a bad taste in his mouth, heading to the summoning room to check if Cecil was there. He wasn't, but neither was the canister of salt, which set Carlos even more on edge. He searched around the house and then into the basement, frowning when he realized he heard a quiet noise and following it into a back room behind a closet door he'd never opened before. The closet door had a false back panel that Steve made sure to lock and magically conceal from prying people like Cecil and Carlos. Fortunately it wasn't a magic lock, but Cecil still flinched back when he heard the lock being tampered with, figuring it was Steve but not coming to set him loose. Carlos gave up and simply slammed his shoulder into the door, doing it again and stumbling through when the lock gave.

When Cecil heard the first thump, he immediately became more concerned, as he figured Carlos was sleeping and Steve should have had the key. He was sitting down, thankfully keeping the shirt he had been wearing in the spirit realm, not that it was doing much good. He previously had his arms around his legs with his head resting on his knees, but now had an arm behind him, leaning away from the door.

Carlos tripped getting through, stumbling and catching himself before looking up, realizing Cecil was there and breathing, "Oh my gods, are you alright?"

Cecil said, "Uhm, y'know, bit cold, been better," with a weak grin, relaxing when he recognized Carlos, tucking his arms around his legs.

"How long have you been down here?" Carlos asked, hurrying over and hugging him. "It's freezing!"

"Oh, really, hadn't noticed," Cecil said sarcastically, huddling into Carlos all the same. "Steve summoned me at sunset. Good thing I didn't mention you when I got here, eh?"

Carlos gave him a look, saying, "I’m going to go grab a blanket, I’ll be right back."

"Alright," Cecil said, figuring they still had time to discuss the problem of bringing him things to stay warm.

Carlos kissed his cheeks and ran back up the stairs. He grabbed two of the warmest blankets he could find and hopped impatiently as water boiled, preparing a thermos and pouring the water into hot chocolate mix when it was ready. He got back downstairs quickly, wondering how he'd never noticed the room before.

Cecil trying to stifle a sniffle when he heard Carlos coming back, glancing up and sighing, "You've got to be the best boyfriend ever," as he took note of everything Carlos was bringing.

"I don't want you getting sick," Carlos said, taking the first blanket and laying it on the ground so that Cecil wasn't sitting on cold stone, and then folding it back over both of them to form a warm pocket, adding the other blanket on top and handing Cecil the hot chocolate.

Cecil purred, mumbling, "Maybe I should just turn into a cat so I can sit on your lap," before taking a sip of the hot chocolate, humming at the instant warmth.

"You might actually be warmer," Carlos said, wrapping his arms around him again.

"This works for me," Cecil said, taking another drink. "Um...you do realize you'll have to stay down here to ensure you can carry the blankets back out of here by the time Steve is coming back."

"Mmhm?" Carlos mumbled, resting his head in the crook of Cecil's neck.

Cecil sighed, "Just making sure," and thinking he should have figured Carlos was planning on it, uncurling some tentacles to wrap around Carlos. He hadn't used them before as they were sensitive to temperatures, and they worked better adding somewhat of a second layer of skin anyway when Carlos hadn't been around.

"Like I was going to leave you down here," Carlos mumbled, "why are you here anyways?"

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "Steve thought he was being generous leaving me two human days to 'recover' in the demon realm. This is a belayed form of punishment for the night of the party."

"Of course," Carlos groaned, rubbing Cecil's back, "of course."

"You didn't honestly think he had let me off the hook?" Cecil asked. "I'm his favorite little trouble maker."

"Yeah, but... oh never mind," Carlos said. "You warm enough?"

"Certainly better than I was, but that's no guarantee I won't end up with a cold," Cecil mumbled, taking a gulp.

Carlos sighed, "You'd better not get sick," as he tugged Cecil onto his lap.

Cecil settled comfortably, saying, "If I do, you can just take me to Josie's. She has a cure for everything."

"Mhmm," Carlos hummed again, rubbing Cecil's chest lightly with his palm. Cecil's hearts skipped a beat, sipping the hot chocolate in an attempt to savor it before shutting his eyes and leaning slightly into Carlos' chest. Carlos rested his chin on Cecil's shoulder, murmuring, "What time do you think Steve'll come back?"

"Hm...probably about a half hour before you usually get up. I'm sure he wants to make sure you don't hear about his demon cruelty," Cecil smirked.

"I'll have to leave before then," Carlos sighed.

Cecil said, "If you're tired, you can sleep. I'll wake you up before Steve comes."

"I just don't want to have to leave you cold," Carlos said.

"I'd only be cold for about ten minutes, unless you wanna make sure you don't get caught putting blankets away," Cecil said.

"Ten minutes is too long," Carlos mumbled, getting tired and warm and comfortable.

"Not in comparison to waiting for you to find me," Cecil chuckled, nuzzling Carlos' temple.

"I don't want you to get cold," Carlos countered, starting to doze off.

Cecil snorted softly, using a tentacle to rub a line down Carlos' spine and saying, "I'm warm now," quietly, using a hand to card his fingers through Carlos' hair.

"Mmm," Carlos hummed, finally giving in to sleep. Cecil chuckled, laying them down carefully and setting Carlos' head on his shoulder, leaving an arm around him and nuzzling into his hair, purring all the while and forcing himself not to fall asleep, too.

Carlos woke up to someone playing with his hair. He yawned, not bothering to move his head and mumbling, "Cecil?"

"Hm?" Cecil hummed in question, continuing to twine his fingers (and one or two tentacles) through Carlos' hair, never getting tired of the way it flowed so smoothly.

"Wha'timezit?" Carlos sighed, snuggling closer.

Cecil said, "I'd say around five thirty. Steve will probably show up around six fifteen, I'll wager."

"I'll wait fifteen more minutes," Carlos sighed, kissing Cecil's neck, which was the closest part of him that he could reach at the moment.

Cecil smirked, "I'm alright with that," as his tattoos moved to wrap around more of Carlos than they had already claimed.

"I'm tired," Carlos commented, by now thoroughly used to tentacles.

"You can fall asleep again, I don't mind," Cecil mumbled, kissing his head.

"I have to get up in fifteen minutes," Carlos said.

"But you're tired," Cecil said, allowing him to continue using his chest as a pillow.

"But I have to go," Carlos groaned, thoughtlessly tracing a pattern on Cecil's stomach.

Cecil grumbled, "I know. Does that mean if you drift off I should wake you?"

"I'm not going to," Carlos yawned, reluctantly starting to sit up.

Cecil said, "Alright, I'll try now," and moved to kiss Carlos' neck from behind before the scientist could comprehend Cecil sitting up as well. The demon wrapped an arm around him to rub his stomach, propping them up with his other hand and lightly tracing sharp teeth along Carlos' skin.

Carlos shivered slightly, mumbling, "You stop that."

"Why?" Cecil smirked against his neck. "To my knowledge, this helps wake you up."

"Yes, it definitely did," Carlos mumbled, the rush of adrenaline definitely keeping him awake.

Cecil chuckled, "You're welcome. But what happened to leaving?" he said, setting his chin on Carlos' shoulder.

"I've got to, or we're both in a lot more trouble," Carlos sighed.

Cecil grumbled, "I know, I know," as he sat back, freeing up space for Carlos to stand and stretch if he wanted to.

Carlos warned, "If I stand up I’m letting the cold air in."

"I need to get used to it anyway for when you actually leave," Cecil pointed out.

"Just giving you a warning," he sighed, standing. Cecil made an upset warble anyway at the rush of cool air, a tentacle pulling the blanket around himself until Carlos would leave. Carlos smiled sadly, kissing his cheek and saying, "You're going to have to slowly acclimate to it."

"Easy for you to say," Cecil mumbled, tucking the blanket further around himself and looking like a cocoon with a head sticking out.

"I know," Carlos sighed, "but I have to be gone in ten minutes." Cecil made a depressed groan, pulling his head into the cocoon and forming a lump of blankets, the empty thermos off to the side. Carlos smiled, "Come on, I’ll be able to summon you again at noon... assuming you want to."

"Of course," Cecil's muffled voice replied. "We were going to go back to Josie's."

"Well, if you didn't need more time at home?" Carlos asked.

"I don't think so," Cecil said, popping his head back out of the blankets. "The few friends who saw me disappear might be concerned, but I'll have enough time to give them the short version of what happened."

"If you're sure," Carlos sighed, kissing his cheek, "I’ve got to go now."

Cecil said, "I think I'll live," with a small smile. "Good luck sneaking past Carlsburg."

"Stay warm," Carlos said, kissing his cheek and picking up the thermos before starting to gather the blankets.

Cecil reluctantly stood to allow Carlos to grab them, saying, "I'll certainly try," and already missing the warmth, hoping Steve would get there as early as he had guessed.

"All right," Carlos replied, making sure the salt looked untouched and folding up the blankets.

"I'll see you at noon," Cecil grinned, giving him a half-wave.

"Love you," Carlos said softly before hesitating, seeming to realize that was out loud, squeaking, and running out of the room.

Cecil raised a brow, mumbling, "Love you too, damn human," with a smirk, sitting down and returning to his position of stay-as-warm-as-possible.

Carlos didn't hear, as he was fumbling with the door and lock to make it believably untouched and then continued to run upstairs to hide the evidence and maybe sleep a little more.


	30. To Love a Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a special chapter for a special return. I'm home from WI! :D

Steve arrived within thirty minutes, which felt more like a few hours to Cecil suddenly being alone in the cellar room. He also didn't like being in there as he had neglected to tell Carlos that he could tell there was a panel to lift the floor directly below where the pentagram was. Cecil could only assume there was either a floor of dirt to experiment with more bloody necromancy rituals or perhaps even another room below them. He just hadn't wanted Carlos to try and investigate it on his own later. Steve entered the room, seeming not to take note of any changes, saying, "I hope you learned your lesson."

Cecil sniffled, glaring up and shivering purposely, growling, "Yes, I think I have," as he acted like he had indeed been sitting there without comfort all night. "I'm sorry about burning Carlos. I didn't mean to."

Steve said, "You better be," before dismissing Cecil with a wave of a hand, being a higher-level wizard who didn't need the word.

Carlos thankfully had a day 'off', as Steve was again going to be out for the afternoon, which he found increasingly suspicious. He spent the morning catching up on a little sleep and then the rest of the time rummaging through his old clothes to find a somewhat-oversized knit sweater his aunt had given him, as he remembered it being the warmest sweater he had. He also collected the extra blankets and made more hot chocolate, bringing another steaming thermos into his room just before noon.

Cecil appeared impressively shirtless, holding a glass of a strange green liquid, saying, "Oh, hi Carlos," and glad he had shut the curtains to block out the midday sun.

"Hi," he smiled, "you alright?"

"A bit better, due to my friend Dana's work," Cecil said, taking a sip of the green liquid and shivering as it went down. "Won't stop the sniffling, though."

Carlos asked, "Is that medicine?"

"More or less," Cecil nodded. "It's nectar from a plant she grows that ah...keeps you warm. It just doesn't taste the best."

"Ah," Carlos said, "I made you a nest," he gestured to the blanket pile he'd made on the bed.

Cecil brightened up at that, saying, "You're the best," and set the glass down before giving him a hug and diving into the blankets. "Feel free to take a sample of the nectar if you want."

Carlos shrugged, grabbing a syringe and taking a small amount for later, saying, "Thanks," as he set it down. He then grabbed the sweater, climbing up after him and handing him the garment.

Cecil tilted his head at it, asking, "Is this actually yours?" with a somewhat amused look, as the sweater had a floral pattern stitched in it.

"Aunt made it for me," Carlos mumbled, blushing.

Cecil chuckled, "She has a good taste," with a tone that could have been sarcasm or complete seriousness. Either way, he tugged it on and looked like a content turtle in his shell, snuggling into it and grabbing a thermos to hold between his hands. "This is a much better treatment than that nectar, that's for sure," he said.

Carlos grinned, wrapping an arm around him and saying, "I'm glad. Sorry you got stuck down there."

"That's hardly your fault; I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me when Kevin got irritating. I forgot we weren't exactly in the demon realm--I'm only considering it lucky I hadn't been using my full reserve of power," Cecil admitted.

Carlos nodded, "It's fine, my hands are back to normal anyways."

"Thanks to Josie," Cecil said, sipping from the thermos and sighing, "gods that tastes so much better," and took another sip.

Carlos grinned, "Would you object to a hat? I’ve got a really warm one and most of your body heat leaves through the head..."

Cecil shrugged, "I suppose I could try one. You sure Carlsburg isn't gonna walk in on this?"

"He's gone for the afternoon, again," Carlos sighed, leaving the bed briefly to grab the hat.

"Ah," Cecil said, thinking back to the hidden trap door and not mentioning it again, instead sipping from the thermos. "That's good."

"It's more than suspicious, at this point," Carlos said, heading over and handing him the hat as he sat back down.

Cecil said, "You already know he's into dark magic. But everything he does won't necessarily be about necromancy. Magic is still an uncertain subject for a lot of people, so he was being truthful in that magic trades have to be done discreetly."

"But three days in a row?" Carlos frowned, "and he doesn't show me anything he gets or talk about what happens."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to defend him by a long shot," Cecil said. "It's certainly suspicious, but-" he paused when he lifted the hat, noting it had pom-poms on strings attached to two ear-flaps. He blinked, pupils dilating as he slowly batted one with a hand, purring and batting at it again. Carlos paused, realizing the obvious distraction and chuckling. Cecil didn't appear to hear him, setting the thermos aside slowly and going back to playing with the pom-poms, shaking his shoulders and torso in a sort of amused jig and batting them again, catching one with his tongue and about to chew on it before he blinked, pupils returning to normal as he glanced to Carlos. He spit the pom-pom out, cleared his throat, and put the hat on slowly, grabbing his thermos when he was done.

Carlos chuckled, leaning over and grabbing the two strings to pull Cecil towards him gently, kissing him. Cecil kissed back with a purr, asking, "Is the hat enchanted to give me hat-hair or something?" suspiciously.

"It's just supposed to keep you warm," Carlos said, tying the strings together loosely.

"I was warm enough with the nest, and the drink, and the sweater, and the you," Cecil said with a smirk.

Carlos grinned, "Glad I'm helpful," as he wrapped his arm behind Cecil's back again.

Cecil purred, taking another drink and humming, "I might have to almost catch colds more often."

"Or you could just ask," Carlos chuckled, resting his head on Cecil's shoulder.

"Or that, too," Cecil said, a tentacle slipping under Carlos' shirt and up his side. Carlos bent away from it, snorting and immediately trying to cover the reaction. Cecil raised a brow, the tentacle only growing longer to accommodate the new distance and wriggled into his side again.

"Cecil, no," Carlos snorted, falling sideways in his attempt to evade.

Cecil grinned widely, saying, "Ooh, I've got myself a ticklish summoner," as more tentacles immediately started testing different potential ticklish spots, one by one.

"No," Carlos squealed, attempting to squirm out of reach and curling up. Cecil chuckled evilly, continuing to try to poke ticklish spots and tried the side of his neck with his own fingers. "Cecil," Carlos gasped, laughing and trying to wriggle out of the way, battling Cecil's hand. Cecil growled playfully, laying down behind Carlos but facing him, using his tentacles to pull Carlos closer, shortly spooning the scientist. Carlos froze, suspicious of another tickle attack and grabbing a blanket just in case.

Cecil chuckled, "I didn't know you were so ticklish," as he nuzzled the nape of Carlos' neck.

"I've always been ticklish," Carlos mumbled, relaxing a bit.

Cecil said, "Well, you're in for trouble later," as he poked Carlos' stomach to emphasize his point.

Carlos jolted slightly and groaned, "Oh gods," wondering if Cecil was in turn ticklish.

Cecil smirked, "Just keep in mind I know about this now," as he rubbed Carlos' stomach slowly in apology.

"I'll never be safe again," he sighed, leaning back into Cecil.

"No, but then again you were never safe around me to begin with," Cecil said, continuing to rub his stomach.

"Debatably," Carlos sighed. "...Are you ticklish?"

"A little," Cecil mumbled, "but don't even think about it."

"A little where?" Carlos asked, grinning slowly as Cecil couldn't see it.

"Like I'd tell you directly after my tickle attack," Cecil snorted.

"Are your tentacles ticklish?" Carlos asked.

Cecil paused, saying, "Maybe," as the ones currently holding Carlos loosened a bit.

"Are they the only ticklish parts?" Carlos asked, definitely grinning now.

"Noo," Cecil said slowly, seeing if he could retract the tentacles slowly enough to not catch Carlos' attention.

"Mhmm," Carlos grinned, relaxing for a split second before turning quickly, tickling the nearest tentacle.

Cecil flinched back, saying, "Oh no you don't," between laughter, using other tentacles to hit Carlos' ticklish spots. Carlos ducked around them, ticking one back and laughing, somehow ending up on top of Cecil. "You're asking for it," Cecil warned, one of the tendrils taking a wider arc to tickle Carlos' armpit from behind.

"Nooo," Carlos chuckled, another tentacle getting his stomach and combined making him collapse onto Cecil.

Cecil blinked, trying to ignore the new position and saying, "Warned you," with a smirk, using a hand to tickle Carlos' neck again.

Carlos snorted, trying to jerk out of the way and gasping, "You did." When he tried to move away, Cecil instinctively used his other arm to stop Carlos from rolling off him, a tentacle curling around Carlos' lower back. Carlos paused, catching his breath as the tickling ceased, still giggling slightly.

Cecil cleared his throat a bit, saying, "To be fair, I do have more limbs than you, so you should've known it was a bad idea to challenge me to a tickling contest."

"No kidding," Carlos panted, still grinning anyways and watching a tentacle brush the hair out of his face.

Cecil studied him, groaning, "Damn it," after a minute, laying his head back with a thump, a tentacle peeling the hat off.

"What?" Carlos asked, leaning forwards and forgetting that he was on top of him.

Cecil shook his head slightly, saying, "I don't know if I can do this, Carlos, not consciously knowing that I live far longer. I don't want to feel like I've been using you this whole time and I don't know maybe it's stupid," he groaned, using a tentacle to cover his face with a pillow.

Carlos frowned, tilting his head and asking, "Where did that come from?"

"Uhm..." Cecil said awkwardly, "you're...kind of laying on me, and I don't know, I thought you might've been um..."

Carlos blinked, glancing down and stammering, "Oh... oh I... no..." he rolled off him carefully but didn't move away, instead laying next to him. "You know I don't think you're using me, right?"

"Well I should hope so," Cecil replied, a bit more relaxed now that Carlos wasn't being so distracting. "I don't mean to be...I don't know," he groaned.

Carlos sighed, wrapping an arm around him and saying, "You know, I don't really mind that you're going to live a lot longer than me."

Cecil frowned, saying, "Sure, so you can live out your whole life knowing I'm around," as he wrapped some tentacles around him anyway.

"It is rather selfish, I suppose," Carlos sighed, resting his head on Cecil's shoulder, "but... I don't know, to me it seems like you have to decide whether you'd prefer losing me later, or never really having me at all."

Cecil hesitated, snorting and saying, "I've already dragged you too much into this world to leave you alone, now. Besides, you still need someone to cover your sorry ass from muggers in alleys."

Carlos laughed, "I'm glad you decided that, then," as he tucked his head into the crook of Cecil's neck.

Cecil purred, nuzzling into Carlos' hair and sighing, "I'll be here for you. Whenever you need me."

"I wish I could say the same," Carlos sighed, tightening his arm around Cecil.

"Don't worry about me," Cecil said, rubbing Carlos' back. "I'm a big strong demon; I can handle myself," he smirked.

"Unless it's chilly out," Carlos smiled.

"Well...ok fine," Cecil sighed, "unless it's cold out."

"And if anyone tries to freeze you again I’ll just have to haunt the bastard," Carlos chuckled.

Cecil snorted, "Works for me, my perfect-haired ghost," before he growled playfully and nuzzled his nose firmly into Carlos' ear. Carlos grinned, turning and shifting his position to be able to kiss him. Cecil kissed him back with a bit more passion than usual, purring deeply and putting a hand on Carlos' jaw. Carlos grinned, curling his hand behind Cecil's neck and letting a tentacle pet his back. Cecil supposed he couldn't help the fact when his tongue switched to its demon form, running it along Carlos' lip shortly before nipping at it. Carlos chuckled, feeling a tentacle burrow into his hair and another wrap around his side. Cecil mumbled, "To be honest, it's sort of hard not to switch into my demon form right about now."

"Really?" Carlos asked, "why?"

"I don't know if you noticed my faster heart rate, but um...it's sort've a side effect of um..." he mumbled sheepishly.

"Interesting," Carlos mumbled, "I thought it was hard for you to stay in that form here."

"That might've been a lie to try to dissuade Carlsburg," Cecil mumbled. "Technically it _does_ take more energy, but it's such a minuscule amount I wouldn't notice."

Carlos chuckled softly, "Good to know," before switching to kiss Cecil's neck.

Cecil tilted his head, humming and groaning, "You're _really_ pushing it," as the tentacle behind Carlos' back tightened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Carlos grinned, nipping at his pulse point.

His next purr turned into more of a growl, Cecil mumbling, "Carlosss," in more of a whiny tone, "I'd rather not stab you with one of my back spines on accident."

"I'm on top of you, not at your back," Carlos grinned.

Cecil narrowed his eyes at the scientist, saying, "You just want me to transform because you think it's hot, don't you," matter-of-factly.

"I just want to make you feel good," Carlos grinned, "and apparently demon form comes with that."

Cecil paused a moment and chuckled, "Aren't you a lucky bastard, then," as he allowed the change, spiraled horns growing on his head and tail shifting from under himself to curl around Carlos' ankle.

"You're not even that different," Carlos chuckled.

Cecil snorted, "This isn't even a complete change. It does give me a bit more muscle mass, though," he mused as a tentacle pulled off his sweater, making him look a bit more serious than before what with the lines of his abdominal muscles showing, they being nonexistent on his human form.

"It's better than floral," Carlos chuckled, watching a tentacle brush past his jaw and taking it, studying it for a moment before giving it a gentle nip.

Cecil's cat pupils dilated minutely before he had the chance to shut his eyes with a groan, mumbling, "Don't do that," though he sounded far from pained.

"Why not?" Carlos asked.

Cecil's eyes opened in a half-glare, pupils returning to normal as he growled, "Do you know how rare it is for any demon to have this sort of contact? It's...arousing, for lack of a better term."

"That is rather the point?" Carlos grinned, kissing his neck again.

Cecil only hummed in reply, tilting his head and mumbling, "You do know I might end up getting a bit rough."

"That's ok," Carlos murmured, "I'll let you know if I need to."

"If you're sure," Cecil said, using his tentacles to slip beneath Carlos' shirt and slide it off over his head, being mindful of the claws on his hands and his now sharpened teeth.


	31. Another Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guh these sortve chapters are the ones i hate so once this is posted I'll give you the next one right away where stuff actually happens, i just don't like chapters being too long >_

Carlos woke up the next morning-- Steve had, thank the void, stayed out suspiciously all night and far later than he said he would. He sighed, realizing that Cecil was still on top of him and that he was very much pinned, though he wasn't too upset about it. Cecil had been aware any stunt like that would be taxing on Carlos, but he had allowed the curiosity of seeing how the young scientist would take to it to override the common sense of the situation. So it happened that Cecil had his nose in the crook of Carlos' neck, purring in his sleep and still in demon form, meaning he was heavier than usual, a clawed hand resting on Carlos' shoulder.

Carlos chuckled, feeling sore but by no means regretting it. He shifted, turning around and kissing Cecil's forehead, mumbling, "Hey, wake up." Cecil made a growl of protest, making it hard to believe he had been asleep to begin with. His tail tightened around Carlos' foot, as did the various tentacles that had stuck around. Carlos chuckled, murmuring, "Come on, you've got to wake up."

"I'm awake, but there's no way I'm getting _up_ ," Cecil mumbled, the tentacles only curling more possessively around him.

"You've got to be ready in case Steve comes," Carlos sighed.

"Uuuugggghhhh," Cecil moaned dramatically, draping himself heavier over Carlos if it were possible.

"Cecil," Carlos chuckled, "we're a mess. We’ve got to get cleaned up at least. Dressed."

Cecil gave Carlos a look, "Don't know about you but I can turn into a cat and have myself groomed in five minutes," though the tentacles reluctantly started loosening their holds.

"I might take a little more work," Carlos chuckled, patting his back.

Cecil sighed, "Fine, fine," and rolled over, the tentacles being pulled back into tattoos as he shuffled further back under the blankets. Carlos sighed, sitting up and making an "umph," of discomfort. That made Cecil look up, frowning, "You alright?"

"Yup," Carlos groaned, straightening and rubbing the back of his neck.

Cecil frowned, "You...have a couple bruises," in admittance, not wanting to startle Carlos with the actual amount of bruises he was covered in.

"Oh, I know. I’m literally covered in them."

Cecil rubbed his neck, mumbling, "Sorry," and glancing away. "Want a massage?" he offered.

"I'm fine," Carlos sighed, "I’m fine."

Cecil rubbed his neck, "So much for going to Josie's yesterday. Want to show up like this, though? She could probably make them go away."

"I can just wear long sleeves," Carlos chuckled, then passed a mirror and added, "...and maybe a scarf."

"I think I'd rather you face embarrassment from Josie than risk having to make up an explanation for Steve."

"True. I’ll have to get a turtleneck, though. Wow." He glanced in the mirror again, running a thumb over the heavy bruise on his collar.

Cecil blushed, glancing away, "I warned you this form is...difficult to manage."

"I thoroughly enjoyed myself," Carlos grinned, glancing back to Cecil.

Cecil snorted, "I'm glad. Just saying, if you were a demon too this whole house would've been knocked down. Wow," he sighed in thought, leaning back with a smirk.

"Well, I think Steve would be a little pissed off," Carlos chuckled, pulling on boxers and pants.

Cecil chuckled, "A little, yeah. He'd probably lock me in his cellar," he added sarcastically.

"I could warm you up," Carlos chuckled, finding a turtleneck to pull on.

"I know you could," Cecil said, shifting back to his human form. Carlos combed a hand through his hair, trying to calm it and heading back to Cecil, leaning over the bed to kiss him again. Cecil kissed him back before saying, "You're just gonna start me off again; you know that, right?" with a smirk, putting a hand on Carlos' shoulder.

"Well, we've got to get to Josie's today, so, you might want to wait a bit," Carlos chuckled, "or there won't be normally colored skin on me."

Cecil chuckled, "I know. You're lucky you didn't end up with scars of your own," he added, nipping Carlos' shoulder.

"I might have," Carlos grinned, smirking as he noticed Cecil had a bruise on his neck as well.

"Maybe a couple. Now get going," Cecil patted Carlos' shoulder, moving to stand and find his clothes. Carlos rolled his eyes, going to brush his teeth and use the restroom, coming back to a clothed Cecil. Cecil straightened his long-sleeved button-up shirt, asking, "So, you ready?"

"Yes," Carlos chuckled, "but you either want a scarf or a popped collar."

"Ah," Cecil said, rubbing the bruise. "Do you have a scarf?"

"Yes," Carlos chuckled, grabbing it and handing it over.

Cecil took it and wrapped it around his neck, throwing half of it around his neck rather flamboyantly, "Alright, shall we?"

"Alright, but you have to be a cat until we are out the front door."

Cecil groaned, "Then what was the point of the scarf?" as he transformed, the clothes disappearing as usual except for the scarf, which shrunk to wrap around his smaller neck.

"Josie," Carlos smiled, "and to keep you warm." He picked Cecil up.

Cecil purred, "If we're asking her to heal bruises, she'll see mine, too."

"True," Carlos replied, "but I hope she doesn't have to see them to heal them, because..."

Cecil snorted, "I don't think she does. C'mon, let's get this over with," as he nuzzled Carlos' chin. Carlos grinned, carrying him through the house and frowning when Steve still wasn't back, mumbling this to Cecil. Cecil's tail twitched in thought, frowning. He said, "I don't know. My only guess is he might be conversing with unsavory characters, or maybe visiting Lauren."

"Or both," Carlos mumbled, petting Cecil's back as he headed out of the house, leaving a note saying he was getting groceries.

Cecil chuckled, "Good one," as they went, purring and cuddling close to Carlos' chest. Carlos grinned, petting his back as he walked and setting Cecil down when no one was looking. Cecil made an upset sound, turning into a human anyway and mumbling, "I liked being carried."

"I can carry you home," Carlos chuckled, "I think people would find it odd I’m talking to my cat."

"And they wouldn't find it odd two men are wearing winter clothing in the summer?" Cecil inquired.

"No, they'll probably guess pretty easily," Carlos said, "and it's almost fall."

Cecil sighed, "I thought it'd still be warm enough to consider short sleeves good coverage."

"If you hadn't grabbed my wrist," Carlos chuckled, bumping into him.

"You moved it," Cecil countered with a smirk, resisting the urge to manifest his tentacles to trip Carlos with.

"You... oh never mind," Carlos sighed, "I’m sure we'd look silly with a scarf and short sleeves."

Cecil rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Let's focus on getting to Josie's or I might take you in public," he smirked.

"Now _that_ is a bad idea. I’m sure there's several people that wouldn't appreciate that."

"Well y'know, I could break a few legs, teach them to mind their own business," Cecil retorted with sarcasm.

"Because accidentally burning my hands didn't get you into enough trouble."

"Carlsburg isn't around to witness it; he's presumably getting into his own mess of trouble with or without Lauren," Cecil smirked.

Carlos rolled his eyes, "Let's just get to Josie's for a start."

"Right," Cecil pat Carlos' shoulder gently to not make his bruises sore.

Carlos glanced up at the houses, asking, "We're close?"

"Mmhm, a couple more blocks," Cecil informed, accidentally scaring a horse pulling a wagon simply by walking past it. Carlos pulled him away from the side of the road just in case, noticing that animals seemed unfooled by his human form. Cecil sighed, "Good thing Josie doesn't own animals, though I'm sure they'd _love_ her angels," he grumbled.

"Are angels still technically demons?" Carlos asked.

"No, they're angels. They're evolved from what a demon is. Like humans evolved from monkeys; two completely different things with fundamental similarities."

"How fast does that change occur?" Carlos asked.

"I'm not sure; I've never personally known a demon who found their purpose. You'd have to ask Josie."

"I feel like it'd be sensitive information," Carlos said, turning onto Josie's block.

"I have to assume it's almost instantaneous. I don't know how many angels there are, but it's possible the only ones are with Josie."

"Can someone else tell you your purpose?" Carlos asked, "or do you realize it, or do you have to do it?"

"You have to find it and carry it out," Cecil shrugged. "That's how we all assume it works."

"Ah," Carlos said, continuing walking in silence, letting a moment pass before asking, "Cecil, how old are you?"

Cecil blinked, asking, "Uhm...human terms?" He rubbed his neck in thought, saying, "I lose track going back and forth so much, but I'd say at least, oh, five hundred and thirty six human years. Probably about thirty in my own terms."

Carlos nodded slowly, "You're a lot older than me."

"I thought we had established that," Cecil frowned, giving him a sideways look.

"I know, I was simply observing a fact. I’m only twenty five."

Cecil started, "Really? You don't look it--I thought you were younger."

"Oh thanks," Carlos chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"That's not a compliment?" Cecil asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Not when I’m this young," Carlos chuckled.

"Well, I try," Cecil shrugged. "Besides, you're not too much younger, if we're going by relative ages."

"Technically true," Carlos chuckled, "I don't know, you seem young to me."

"You should meet some of the older demons. Then again, they seem to get stronger with age..."

"Interesting," Carlos mumbled, "but still, you seem young."

"I'll take it as a compliment," Cecil chuckled. "I don't know; when I loosen up, I'm told I can be the life of the party. Most of the time I'm forced into a more serious role, though."

"You're serious?" Carlos asked, blinking at him.

"At home, yes," Cecil bristled. "I loosen up when chance should allow it."

"Why do you have to be serious at home?" Carlos asked.

Cecil sighed, "I guess it's because it's what everyone expects from me. I'm a higher-class demon, so I'm supposed to be more respectable," he ended with distaste.

"Ah," Carlos mumbled, wrapping an arm behind his back as they passed the few houses before Josie's.

"Higher class demons are also sort of peace keepers. If a fight breaks out, we have to stop it before half the realm gets involved," Cecil continued with an exasperated look.

"Right," Carlos sighed, "honestly sounds exhausting and boring."

"It is," Cecil nodded, "but it comes with the package of everyone respecting, or fearing, you."

"Doesn’t seem worth it," Carlos mused, starting up Josie's steps.

"Well, it's nice that no one usually picks a fight with you, that's a plus," Cecil said as they reached the door.

"There’s that," Carlos mumbled, realizing the doors again opened themselves.

An angel was standing there again with a grin, saying, "Welcome back," and standing aside. Carlos murmured a thank-you, getting almost used to the house but still following Cecil.


	32. Healing

"Lady Josie is brimming with questions, as a fair warning," the angel warned as they walked inside.

"I'm sure she is," Cecil sighed, subconsciously rubbing his neck on the bruised spot.

"Of course," Carlos mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and following to the library area.

The walls were lined with shelves of books, the room being circular with large windows, which were the only parts of the wall not covered by novels. Josie was in a red velvet chair with the angels sitting around her, looking much like they were enjoying story time with cookies. "Hello, dears," Josie said, having already set down the book she'd been reading.

The angels looked over with amusement upon seeing Carlos' state, Cecil nodding and saying, "Hello Josie. Sorry for barging in again."

"It's alright dear, we're happy for it," Josie said, "though maybe my little angels wouldn't mind tending to the gardens?" The angels nodded, giving her a strange look as they stood and walked out of the library to head outside. "You can eat any apples and strawberries you find," she called after them, as she knew strawberries were a special treat to them.

They made excited trills and warbles as they hurried along. Cecil sighed, "You sent them out for a reason, I imagine?"

"I enjoy embarrassing you, dear, but I didn't want to leave you absolutely mortified," she chuckled.

Cecil snorted lightly, "That I find hard to believe, Josie."

"Well, we'll see," she chuckled, Carlos already starting to blush as she said, "I can see some of the reason you came"

Cecil choked on air, coughing and saying, "Josie, really," as he looked away, blushing purple.

"Anyways," she grinned, "I can see some bruises."

Cecil sighed, removing his scarf and asking, "Can you heal them, please?" she being the only one he'd use proper manners towards in situations like this.

"Sure," she chuckled, waving her hand over him and glancing to Carlos.

Cecil sighed, "Thanks. He might ah...need a bit more intensive care."

"I'm not at all surprised," she chuckled, gesturing to Carlos. He took a step forwards, blushing as he pulled his top over his head. Cecil glanced away sheepishly, ignoring the more concentrated areas of bruises around Carlos' pectorals and upper groin area. Josie was chuckling as Carlos stared red-faced at the ceiling, saying, "Ooh my, he did a number on you dear."

"I warned him," Cecil mumbled, becoming fascinated with one of her bookshelves.

"I'm sure you did," Josie mumbled, casting an overarching healing spell on Carlos.

"Thank you," Cecil sighed, looking back to them. "I don't know how we'd have explained to Steve."

"You wouldn't have," Josie chuckled, "at least you didn't do too much damage."

"I held back a bit, yeah," Cecil continued blushing.

Carlos was making an intense study of ceiling cobwebs as Josie said, "All right, dear, you're done."

"You're a life saver, Josie," Cecil grinned sheepishly.

Carlos pulled his shirt back on quickly, Josie saying, "Was there anything else?"

"Carlos had a few more questions, yeah," Cecil sighed, sitting on a love-seat couch.

"First off, there's a still-problematic scar on Cecil's back," Carlos started, Josie raising a brow at the demon.

Cecil gave Carlos a look, sighing, "I hoped to bring that up with a bit more tact, thank you Carlos."

"How was I supposed to word it?" Carlos asked, Josie gesturing for Cecil to remove his shirt.

Cecil mumbled, "You could've let me tell her," as he stood, removing his shirt and turning around.

"And how would you have worded it?" Carlos asked, Josie standing and hobbling closer to Cecil.

Cecil said, "I don't know, but I'd have lead up to the topic rather than dive right in," as his tattoos all shifted out of the way to reveal the scar.

Carlos mumbled something suspiciously like, "Notwhathappenedlastnight," as Josie tutted at the scar. Cecil gave him a look, smirking slowly and saying, "You didn't complain," as he forced the tattoos to stay shifted aside.

Josie mumbled, "Boys, try to keep your pants on while you're here," as she prodded the scar lightly with a finger.

Cecil's back tensed, Cecil shutting his eyes briefly as the shot of pain and saying, "We will, Josie, unless Carlos lets his hormones get the better of him again," he smirked.

"Boys," she admonished, studying Cecil's back and asking, "where did this come from, and why did you leave it so long?"

Cecil sighed, "I figured it'd heal on its own time. I got it from another demon's tail whipping me in the back during a fight."

"And why didn't you come to me?" she asked. "It looks like it nearly killed you."

Cecil frowned, "Dana prevented that much. I didn't want to concern you because it happened under...unusual circumstances," he admitted, having hoped to avoid telling her the part about being forced into the fight.

"Mhmm," she sighed, waving her hand over the injury to scan it.

He felt the scar tingle as she scanned it, saying, "Ordinarily you know I'd trust your healing, but you'd just have become upset by the story."

"Mhm," she hummed, "don't tell me if you must, dear. I can heal this, but extracting the poison is going to hurt a lot."

"I figured it might," Cecil frowned. "How long will the process take?"

"Extracting, a few seconds," Josie said, "I’ll need to give you a few minutes break and then i can heal it."

Cecil nodded, asking, "Should I sit down or anything?"

"You might want to, dear," she sighed, "and hold on to something." Carlos frowned, giving him a concerned look.

Cecil said, "Right," as he folded his shirt into more of a rope, glancing to Carlos and saying, "don't worry, I've had worse," with a somewhat forced smile, sitting on the couch and sitting cross legged so she could sit behind him.

"Sorry, dear," Josie sighed, setting a hand over the center of the cut and drawing away slowly.

"Agh," Cecil groaned, stifling another sound of pain with a growl, fist clenching the shirt in his hand as bits of his demon form began to show through, spines started to barely pierce out of his back and claws growing, along with sharper teeth. Josie winced in sympathy, Carlos starting forwards in concern as Josie flicked her hand, finishing removing the venom.

Cecil sighed and panted when the pain stopped, the spines and claws retreating back into his skin as he said, "Thank you."

"I had to burn out the poison, unfortunately," Josie said, "it would have been a lot better if you hadn't waited so long." Carlos sat in front of Cecil, rubbing his shoulder.

Cecil said, "I didn't know it was venom. I had suspicions about it but thought it'd take care of itself. Venom doesn't usually stick around in demons."

"Well it has been, thank the void, been counteracted at the exact pace it was dissolving your cells," Josie said, "it would have killed a non-demon."

Cecil said, "Then I'm glad no humans got in the way. It hasn't been _too_ problematic."

"I'm sure," she said disapprovingly. Carlos seemed to realize he was rubbing Cecil’s shoulder with his thumb.

Cecil took a deep breath, asking, "How long will the rest take to heal? I imagine the scar will stay?"

"The scar will be much less, and healing should be almost painless," Josie said, "it should only take a minute."

"Ah, you're not gonna make it heal naturally?" Cecil asked.

"No, you'd get it infected again," she said, patting his shoulder.

Cecil chuckled, "Yeah, you're probably right," as he remained facing away from her so she could work on his back.

"All right, dear, once more," she murmured, running a hand over his back and casting a healing spell over the scar. Cecil's jaw clenched, the healing spell stinging somewhat as she forced his skin to repair itself, though it wasn't nearly as bad as the first round. Carlos rubbed his shoulder again, Josie sighing and saying, "That's done, then."

Cecil nodded, "Thanks, Josie. I should've come sooner."

"Yes you should have," she said, patting his shoulder and heading to the kitchen to grab cookies out of the oven.

Cecil sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the couch and remained sitting, saying, "Sorry you had to see that," to Carlos.

"Don't be ridiculous," Carlos said, leaning forward to give him a hug.

Cecil hugged him back, mumbling, "If you act much more concerned we can both expect more comments from Josie."

"She'll have them anyways," Carlos said, "is your back sore?"

"A little, admittedly," Cecil replied. "It probably will be for at least a week."

"But it'll heal just fine," Josie said, returning with warm chocolate chip cookies, "you won't feel it again after a week, tops."

Cecil smiled, "That's the best news I've heard since Carlos admitting he loved me."

Josie raised both brows at that, Carlos's eyes turning huge as he mumbled, "Wasn’t sure you heard that."

"I responded, you nerd," Cecil said affectionately.

"OhIdidn’thearit," Carlos mumbled, leaning back into the couch slowly as Josie offered cookies.

Cecil smirked, taking a cookie and saying, "I'll remind you later," before taking a bite.

Carlos simply took a cookie, looking a bit stunned as he nibbled it, Josie saying, "Is that so?"

"Yeah, called him a nerd then, too," Cecil smirked, "or something close to it," as he took another bite.

Carlos was still blinking rapidly, Josie saying, "Well, I suppose I owe you the if-you-hurt-him speech."

"I already sort've have, but go on," Cecil said, munching contently.

"I said I owed it; I know he doesn't really need to know anything besides the fact that if you do hurt him you'll upset a lot of very powerful supernatural creatures," she grinned.

Cecil nodded, "I wouldn't dream of it," with a grin.

"Same to you, dear," Josie said, raising a brow to Carlos, who simply nodded and almost subconsciously put his hand around Cecil's side, which apparently was a good enough response for Josie.

Cecil grinned, covering his hand with his own and saying, "I'll keep him out of trouble," with a wink.

"Now," Josie said, "is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

Cecil thought a moment and said, "Oh yeah, something about my sleeping habits."

"Sleeping habits?" Josie asked, Carlos saying, "He's sleeping a lot, recently." 

Josie raised a brow, saying, “Don’t _you_ get sleepy after…” 

“Not that sleepy,” Carlos said quickly.

Cecil coughed a bit, clarifying, "Demons don't usually sleep, as you know, but for some reason, being in the same room as him when he's asleep makes me tired, too."

Josie snorted, covering it with a cough and saying, "That's it, dear?”

Cecil said, "Well we were curious if it's a more human thing, because it just seemed strange."

"It just means you're subconsciously settling to be with him," she said, "and it means you're relaxed."

"Ah," Cecil blinked as that clicked. He hadn't really thought about it that way so it hadn't occurred to him earlier.

"And your subconscious plans on being relaxed, with him, for a while," Josie grinned.

"Good to know, I guess," Cecil said, rubbing his neck. "If he gets bruised up again should we come back here or just call?"

"You can just call," she chuckled, "but please be dressed first."

"We will be," Cecil blushed, glancing away again. "And are you sure you don't want to mortify me?"

"No, I haven't tried yet," she grinned, Carlos rubbing his hands over his face.

Cecil sighed, "Then I fear for the day. And there is actually one more thing we should mention before we go..."

"Yes?" she grinned, taking one of the cookies.

"Carlsburg has been out a lot recently, it's the only reason we're visiting right now," Cecil said. "He might be planning something."

"He's been out for a lot longer than he said, too," Carlos said. 

"It is rather suspicious," Josie admitted.

Cecil frowned, "Maybe he's on to something. Also, turns out he has a hidden back room in his cellar, which might very well be where he practices his magic."

"We couldn't find it until..." Carlos frowned, Josie raising a brow at Cecil.

Cecil frowned, "He...left me in there overnight as punishment for accidentally burning Carlos' hands."

Josie frowned, Carlos saying, "I realized something was wrong and warmed him up," quickly.

"Oh good," she sighed, "I don't want you sick again, especially as you're healing."

Cecil nodded, "I know. I was fortunate Carlos tried to summon me at midnight, or I'd definitely have pneumonia."

"And I’d hope you'd have come to me," Josie said, giving him a pointed look.

Cecil sighed, "Yes, Josie, I wouldn't trust a demon's methods of curing something like that."

"Good," she said, satisfied, "if you do get sick, please do come to me."

"I will," Cecil promised, standing and moving to take her hand, bowing in respect and gratitude.

"Good," she grinned, "and open a window on your way out, you two have been filling the room with enough hormones."

Cecil straightened, clearing his throat and saying, "Right, sorry," with a blush.

"It's fine," she chuckled, "I’ve gotten used to it."

"Aaanyway," Cecil said slowly, "we should take our leave, make sure Steve doesn't get home and expect groceries."

"We should probably stop on the way," Carlos said, standing.

"I could run ahead and see if he's home?" Cecil suggested.

"Well, we could stop by the candy isle again," Carlos said, glancing to him.

Cecil paused, saying, "I mean if you _insist_ ," with a hidden excitement.

Carlos chuckled, wrapping an arm around his side and saying, "Thanks, Josie."

"Thank you," Cecil echoed. "We'll probably call again soon."

"No problem," she chuckled, "it's no trouble."

They left her house, the angels still outside tending to her flowers. Cecil sighed, "Much as I would enjoy shopping for candy, maybe I should see if he's home yet. If he thinks he's there alone, I might get the chance to catch him with necromancy supplies or something."

Carlos frowned, "You can check in, and I’ll meet you at the store?"

Cecil nodded, "Works for me. Don't run into any muggers again," he smirked, kissing Carlos' cheek.

"I'll try," he chuckled, giving him a hug, "see you in a few minutes."

"Alright," Cecil said, patting his shoulder and turning into a cat, running off quickly towards Steve's house. Carlos watched him go before turning and walking towards the store to wait for Cecil.


	33. Magician's Folly

Cecil trotted up to the house, reaching a tentacle from his tail to turn the knob carefully, trying to open the door without it creaking. He made it into the house in relative silence, perking his ears this way and that until he caught wind of Steve's voice upstairs talking to a female, presumably Lauren. He was about to turn around to tell Carlos they in fact needed some groceries to prove their cover story, but paused when he overheard Steve's voice raising and saying, "No! It's too soon." Cecil blinked, curiosity piqued as he trotted p the stairs, sitting outside Steve's bedroom door. 

"You can't put it off for too long, Steve; surely he'll be suspicious," Lauren said.

"I know, he's a liability as is," Steve replied, making Cecil frown. He hoped they weren't talking about...

"But Carlos is a brilliant student, you said so," Lauren countered. "Why not involve him rather than get rid of him?" Cecil blinked, fur bristling as he held back a growl.

Steve sighed, "I don't want to waste such raw talent, but he had a good heart. He wouldn't understand the power of necromancy, my dear." Cecil stuck his tongue out in distaste--so his conclusion about where the love potion ended up had been correct.

Lauren said, "So you're just going to kill him?" softly.

"He might know too much already. I think he's still summoning that damn demon, but I've no proof of it. He's too great a risk...but he'll be put to good use."

Cecil rammed the door open with a tentacle, growling, "Like hell he will," as he turned into a human, eyes flashing purple as a tentacle wrapped around Steve's throat.

"Shit," Lauren said, whistling to a lion that Cecil had failed to notice. The lion roared and pounced him, knocking Cecil aside, though the tentacle only barely loosened from Steve's neck. Cecil glared up, noting the lion had pitch black eyes.

"Kevin," Cecil growled.

"Cecil," the lion replied with a wide smile, unfitting for an animal. He put a paw on Cecil's chest, saying, "I'm gonna need you to release Mr. Carlsburg now."

"F-" Cecil started to say before he felt a searing pain, ending his soon-to-be cuss in a screech that made his tentacle reel back, trying to shove Kevin off himself instead. 

Steve rubbed his neck, growling, "Petulant demon," before Cecil felt the pain again, willing Carlos not to come back.

~~~~~~~~

Carlos waited for half an hour to hear back from Cecil, after that time deciding that something was definitely wrong. He paced, eventually just deciding to forget getting groceries and heading home. He entered cautiously, not detecting any signs of others until he heard faint sounds downstairs, frowning and heading down.

"Why did he summon you?" Steve asked, getting more impatient.

"Piss off," Cecil replied, only earning another lash on the back from one of Kevin's tattoos, followed by another 'sorry' from the other demon.

Carlos reached the door, hesitating to go in but frowning when he thought he heard Kevin's voice. Steve said, "We can do this all night, you devil."

"Your words pain me more than these lashes," Cecil said with heavy sarcasm, Steve gesturing to Kevin and making Kevin lash him again.

Kevin said, "Cecil, you could make this so much easier on yourself. If you tell him what he wants I can stop, and we'll both be happier." He did in fact sound like whipping Cecil was hard for him, but clearly wasn't regretting it much.

Cecil growled, "You're always happy, idiot," behind himself, as he was sitting in a pentagram while Kevin was not.

Carlos frowned, hesitating again and stepping slowly into the room. They all looked over when they heard the door opening, Cecil frowning, "Carlos, get out of-" before Lauren, who was sitting in a corner, gave a signal to Kevin. Kevin frowned but used his tattoos to hold Cecil's mouth shut, keeping his feet out of the pentagram but his tattoos inside.

Carlos blinked in surprise, processing what was going on and doing the first effective thing he could think of, which was to say "ralon" and send Cecil home. Cecil blinked, making muffled sounds of protest but fading away against his will. "Oh dear," Kevin said with a frown, pulling his tattoos back and looking worriedly to Lauren.

Lauren sighed, "It wasn't your fault, Kevin. You did well." Kevin nodded silently, knitting his fingers together and giving Carlos another worried glance. Carlos relaxed a little internally knowing that he was safe for now, taking a half-step back and assessing the situation.

Steve sighed, rubbing his temple and saying, "Hello, Carlos. You have interesting timing, as always. How was the grocery store?" he asked in a tone that implied he knew that wasn't where Carlos had been.

"Great," Carlos said, wondering if he had a chance to run for it.

Steve hummed, "Mmhm, good," as his eyes flicked to Lauren, who gave a curt nod to Kevin. Kevin sighed, "Here we go again," as one of his tattoos lashed out and grabbed one of Carlos' arms, another reaching to grab his other arm.

Carlos tried to tug his arms free and quickly discovered he couldn’t, eventually mumbling, "Crap."

Steve sighed, "That would about sum up the situation for you, yes. Kevin, take him to his room. I have to discuss something with Lauren. Make sure he doesn't escape, or call Cecil."

Kevin nodded, "Will do," as two more of his tattoos took hold of Carlos' arms, saying, "c'mon, Carlos," with a surprisingly downcast tone. Carlos was lead somewhat forcefully out of the room, being taken two flights of steps up and into his own room. Kevin used another leg to shut and lock the door behind himself, letting Carlos go and saying, "Well, I'm under orders, so just...get comfortable."

Carlos frowned, sitting on his bed and crossing his arms, asking, "What's going on?"

"Well, see, I'm also kind of under a vow of secrecy regarding that," Kevin said, growing more cheerful and chirping, "and did I mention how nice your room is? Very well-kept."

"What's going on?" Carlos repeated, leaning back against the wall.

Kevin sighed, "I know you must be curious, but if I tell you I'm just in for a world of trouble."

"We're all in a world of trouble right now," Carlos said.

Kevin made a high-pitched whimpering sound, "I know. And I mean, _I'm_ under orders to stop you from summoning _Cecil_ and from talking about _it_ ," he said pointedly. "Speaking of Cecil, I thought you said you weren't dating?" his smile widened.

"I wasn't when I told you," Carlos said, crossing his arms again, "piss off."

Kevin chuckled, "I'm happy for you! He's been waiting a long time for a partner, I think."

"And clearly it's going so great," Carlos scowled.

Kevin's smile fell slightly, saying, "Well I wouldn't give up on it yet. If _Cecil_ can't tell you what's going on maybe someone _else_ can," Kevin tried again, giving Carlos a look.

"I don't know any other demon's names," Carlos said.

"Cecil hasn't told you any?" Kevin asked.

"No," Carlos said, "well, I guess I heard the name Dana."

"Oh, ring her up then," Kevin said. "I mean, no, you really shouldn't," with a fake tone of warning.

Carlos rubbed his temple, asking, "Can I go into the kitchen first?"

"What for? I'm under orders to keep you in here," Kevin reminded him. "Dana's nice enough. A few runes of ensnaring should be enough to hold her."

"I wanted to make hot chocolate," Carlos said.

Kevin blinked, raising a brow and asking, "Make what?" with confusion and a slight expression of disgust.

"Hot... like chocolate milk, but hot," Carlos sighed.

Kevin raised a brow, sighing, "Humans," as he prodded Carlos towards the door with a leg, hissing, "make it quiet."

Carlos raised a brow, going and quickly making a few thermoses of the drink, going back upstairs with them and saying, "I don't suppose you want one?"

"Eugh, no thanks," Kevin said, shutting the door again. "I'm more one for sour things."

"Most demons like sweet things," Carlos said, drawing a pentagram in chalk.

"I'm not most demons, then," Kevin grinned, observing him as he worked.

"There's sour candies over there," Carlos offered, pointing, "Cecil got them and hated them."

"Ooh, really?" Kevin asked, using an insect leg to reach over and grab some, popping one in his mouth and humming, "Delicious."

"Glad someone's eating them," Carlos said, marking runes, "are you cold?"

Kevin said, "Um, not really, why?"

"What kind of demon are you?" Carlos mumbled, casting a careful summoning spell.

"Same as any other, though maybe a little stronger," Kevin shrugged. "I mean, being Cecil's opposite and all we're a pretty equal match." 

The pentagram glowed blue, a young looking woman with short, dark reddish-brown hair appearing in a maroon, leather jacket covering an orange tank top. She had dark blue jeans on and pierced ears, hands in her pockets as she said, "Oh, different summoner. Has it been that long?" she wondered more to herself.

"Hiii Danaaa!" Kevin chirped, waving at her and eating another candy.

"Oh Void send me back," Dana said, looking to Carlos now.

"I can't," Carlos grimaced, "sorry. Are you cold? I have blankets and hot chocolate."

Dana's expression fell to confusion, looking at the thermos and saying, "Listen kid, after a couple hundred years you learn a thing or two. Trying to poison me the first time you summon me isn't the best way to get on someone's good side."

"It's not poison," Carlos said, "I’m not even sure you can poison a demon."

"It's possible if you get the right stuff," she grinned, "but don't go getting ideas, now."

Carlos offered her the thermos, asking, "Is it possible to do it on accident?"

"It'd be hard to, I'll give you that," she said, slowly reaching for it. She paused, glancing down and saying, "The pentagram is halting my reach." He frowned, taking a step forwards and tilting the thermos so that the bottom half was in the pentagram, and he was holding the top half outside, just barely avoiding spilling. Dana gave him a look, mumbling, "Good eye," as she took the thermos, balancing it and taking a sip. She hummed, "Huh, not bad," and took another drink.

"Want a blanket?" Carlos asked, sipping his own mug in thought.

"Sure," she said, staying standing as she took another drink. Carlos grabbed a blanket and tossed it over to her carefully, fiddling with the hat that was still on his bed as he did. "Thanks," she said, twirling it to twist it into a rope, shortly and carefully lashing it outside the pentagram's border to wrap around Carlos' arm when it was outstretched to hold his hat. She gave the new rope a tug her direction and made Carlos lose his balance, catching the first thing of his that happened to cross into the pentagram, that being his shoulder, pulling him inside with her. "Hello," she said cheerfully, though her grip was strong as iron. Kevin looked up from eating candy, not having had the time to register what had just happened.

Carlos blinked, realizing what had occurred and saying, "Hi."

"Didn't your master ever tell you not to just give things to a demon?" she asked, tilting her head and retaining her grip.

"No?" he said, "well, Steve just told me not to summon demons, in general. Cecil told me not to be so friendly. I forgot. Well, I remembered to put salt, but…"

Dana blinked, her grip loosening a bit as she asked, "You know Cecil? Could you be...?" again more to herself, leaning forward and smelling him, saying, "Oh wow, yeah, you're Cecil's," as she leaned back.

Carlos raised a brow, saying, "That was... alright, I’m not going to comment on that."

"You probably shouldn't," she agreed, releasing his shoulder. "Sorry if I scared you. You could've just outright told me who you were," she grinned.

"I didn't think of it," he said, "is Cecil ok?"

Dana frowned, "Well, funny you ask, I mean he had just gotten home with his back full of scratches when I felt myself being summoned."

"This is a bit complicated," Carlos frowned, "but he got home ahead of me and I don't really know what happened, but I think he walked in on Steve and Lauren planning something bad. When I got there they were having Kevin I think hit him as they tried to interrogate him so I sent him home as soon as I could. Now I’m stuck here and Kevin's not allowed to tell me what's going on and he's supposed to keep me here and stop me summoning Cecil."

Dana whistled, "Wow, that's a lot to take in. So where am I fitting in to this picture?"

"He not very subtly hinted to summon another demon to overpower him so i can summon Cecil and figure out what's going on," Carlos said.

Dana glanced to Kevin and back to Carlos with a bit of disbelief, one brow raised above the other as she said, "You're gonna have to pay me a _lot_ to be willing to touch that."

Kevin huffed, "Dana, don't be rude!"

"Uh huh, sure Kevin," Dana said.

"What do demons pay in?" Carlos asked, "and probably just you standing between us would work."

Kevin crossed his arms, saying, "I'm allowing this for your own good, Carlos."

"I'd...need to be released from the pentagram anyways," Dana chimed in. "Though I know you'll probably never agree to such a thing from a demon other than Cecil."

"No I'm fine with it," Carlos said, "i'd prefer it if you didn't go killing people though."

Dana sighed, "That's a shame, I was so getting ready to murder the world," with implied sarcasm.

"I'm probably far too trusting," Carlos sighed, kicking some of the salt off the pentagram.

"A little bit, yeah, if it were any other demon," Dana said, focusing on the weak point and watching the invisible wall crack and shatter with a tap of her finger. "Cecil must have mentioned me for you to know about me, then?" she asked, stepping over the border.

"He mentioned you were trying to warm him up," Carlos said, gesturing to the still-half-finished vial on the bedside table.

"Ahh, well, I owe him a few favors, so," she shrugged noncommittally.

"You can still use the blanket if you're cold," Carlos said, sweeping the rest of the salt off.

Dana said, "Don't I have to stop Smiley here from stopping you?"

Kevin grinned, "Ooh, I like that name."

Carlos groaned, asking, "Really, is he always like that?"

"Yes," Dana and Kevin said simultaneously. Dana added, "Well, you also don't want to see him in a bad mood, so if you've only seen him like this, consider yourself lucky."

"He has a bad mood?" Carlos asked, starting to summon Cecil.

"Don't we all?" Dana asked with a grin, keeping an eye on Kevin, who was making half-real protests of, "No, stop, what are you doing," and once in awhile trying to slip an insect leg past Dana, which she shoved aside with a pulse of magic each time.

Carlos finished the summoning spell, feeling a bit awkward with an audience. They waited, nothing happening. Dana turned to glance over her shoulder, saying, "Any time now?"

Carlos frowned, "That really should have worked. The only time it's not worked was last time..."

Dana frowned, saying, "Demons can't be summoned if they already are. You sure you said the spell right?"

"Yes," Carlos said, "Steve has a pentagram in the basement..."

Dana sighed, "Oh boy. Want me to fly down there?"

"Will they notice you?" Carlos asked.

"Well they don't call me cardinal for nothing, but I can make it subtle if you want," Dana said.

"I just don't want Steve to notice you," Carlos said, "he has this spell to hurt demons..."

Dana sighed, "All summoners do, they generally learn the spell of self defense before learning how to summon demons," she smirked. "Be right back," she said, suddenly shrinking and turning into a large red bird with strikingly golden and orange accented feathers, cawing a musical note and spreading her wings. Her feathers looked singed as she took off through the door.

Kevin grinned, "Not quite a cardinal, but best flier in the demon realm." Carlos nodded, nervous again knowing that Cecil was with Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooohhh shits goin downnn


	34. The Price of Betrayal

Cecil appeared with shoulders tense, afraid of exactly what he was looking at. "Hello Cecil," Steve said with a grimace.

"Carlsburg, what a surprise," Cecil said stiffly. 

"Where were we?" Steve asked.

"I believe you were trying to get me to tell you why Carlos kept summoning me, though why you think you'll make more progress after what I found out I've not a clue," Cecil growled.

"You're a demon, as if you care about the fate of my apprentice," Steve scoffed. "Now unless you want those cuts on your back to burn like the sun, I suggest you start cooperating."

Dana frowned, sitting outside the room in the basement and wishing she had permission to enter. She instead took off back up the steps, angling expertly back upstairs and bursting into Carlos' room, settling on the floor as she turned back into a human. She said, "He's down there, Steve's threatening him."

"Great," Carlos said, "wish I wasn't so useless. Can we go down?"

"Well, you've got me, but I might prove more useful holding Kevin back if you want to go down alone," she shrugged.

"Alright," Carlos frowned, "Kevin, you can have the sour candies, no one else wants them."

Kevin squealed, "Eeeee!" with delight and dug into the drawer again, Dana groaning, "On second thought, maybe you should take me with you. Don't leave me alone with this," she added quickly.

"You can do whichever you think is the better choice," Carlos sighed, "I don't know. There's regular candy up here too."

Dana frowned, "Well don't tempt me to _stay_ with him, he'll be fine," she said, starting to push Carlos towards the door.

"Fine," Carlos sighed, heading to the door and running quickly down the stairs.

Dana followed him, asking, "So what's the deal? I know Steve's a jerk, but what's he got against Cecil recently?"

"Recently, I don't really know," Carlos said, "he caught me summoning him once. And you know he burned my hands."

Dana nodded, "Mmhm, he was devastated," as they neared the basement stairs.

"It really wasn't that bad," Carlos sighed, turning a corner to head down the basement stairs quietly.

"He didn't see it that way," Dana said softly, "he was terrified you were going to hate him or mistrust him."

Carlos frowned, asking, "He was really that worried about that?"

"I've only seen him drink so heavily once before, way back when he had eyes for a different summoner," Dana said. "That one...didn't work out so well, though. He was a scientist like you but...he saw Cecil as most other conjurers do--like an animal to be tamed and experimented on."

Carlos paused, saying, "He mentioned him."

Dana sighed, "He does like to bring him up on occasion, but since meeting you he's brought him up less and less. You're good for him."

Carlos sighed, "There's that," as he slowly moved to the bottom of the steps. Dana grinned but fell silent, wincing when they heard a pained sound, presumably from Cecil, in the hidden back room. Carlos frowned, murmuring, "Do we have a plan or are we just running in?"

"Truthfully, I think it's more fun without a plan, and without Kevin, I think you're in a position of a bit more control now," Dana said.

"Alright," Carlos said, grabbing a broom, as it was the only weapon available.

Dana asked, "Want me to go first?" as they heard another pained yell.

Carlos winced, saying, "I should probably go first."

Dana sighed, "If you insist," and put a hand on his shoulder before drawing it back. Carlos nodded, hesitating again for a second before forcing the door open again, moving quickly into the room.

Steve had his hand raised, looking like he was about to strike Cecil when he stopped, Carlos entering the room with Dana glaring behind him. Steve said, "Carlos? Where's Kevin?" with surprise.

Cecil groaned, "Carlos, leave," from his position kneeling on the ground.

"He's busy," Carlos frowned, heading further into the room, “I’m not leaving again.”

"For once it might've been smarter for you to follow your pet's advice," Steve said, flicking a hand and shutting the door behind them. Lauren was behind Steve, looking worried but still glaring at the pair of them.

"That's a shame," Carlos said, standing in front of Cecil, "and for gods sakes he's not a pet."

Cecil said, "Carlos, you're not safe," tightly.

Steve sighed, "He might as well be. Do you think I'm blind, Carlos? You think I wouldn't notice you continuing to summon him?"

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't," he said, subtly shifting his foot back and disrupting the salt around the pentagram.

Lauren glanced to his foot, saying, "Steve," before Dana turned into a phoenix, cawing and swooping over Carlos' shoulder towards her, claws extended. Steve's gaze snapped to the bird, holding a hand out and making Dana screech, falling to the ground shortly before the room turned black and white. Tentacles shoved Carlos aside as Cecil stood slowly with a heated glare, more tentacles crashing out of the pentagram to grab a hold of Steve. Cecil growled, "You. Will **not**. Touch him," as Lauren squeaked, "No!"

Carlos caught his footing again, glancing to Steve and deciding he was covered, instead moving to Lauren. Dana transformed back into a human, saying, "I've got her," to Carlos, Cecil's tentacles holding Steve far too tightly, Dana hearing a bone crack. Carlos glanced to Dana, still keeping a block between Lauren and Steve and watching. "Cecil," Dana said over her shoulder, wondering if in a fit like this he could be calmed.

"What?" Cecil asked between grit teeth, walking forward and grabbing Steve's neck with his hand.

"Cecil," Carlos said calmly, "we talked about the not killing him thing."

"That changed," Cecil growled, "because now he's threatened to kill you."

Carlos frowned, giving Steve a look and saying, "Well, that's changed cause he's going to _leave us alone_."

"Carlos," Steve started to say before Cecil's grip tightened, cutting him off.

"I don't want to hear it," Cecil growled, looking lethal. "He'd never get off your back. You're a liability to him, Carlos."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Carlos said, "I’ll be fine."

"I don't trust him," Cecil growled, "if I let him go he'll attack."

"Cecil, you're choking him," Dana said, glancing over her shoulder again, Lauren in a state of shock, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Maybe loosen up a little bit," Carlos said, walking closer to him, "I’m fine."

"You are now, not later," Cecil said, grip remaining tight as Steve started really struggling, trying to push Cecil's arm back and not succeeding in the least. "As long as he lives, you're at risk," Cecil continued.

"I'm always at risk," Carlos said, "it's ok. Please loosen your grip a little."

Cecil glanced to him, the anger falling from his features a little before he growled and only loosened his grip enough for Steve to breathe. Steve took some gasping breaths, Cecil saying tightly, "So what are we going to do with him? I won't just leave him; he'll come back."

"We can figure something out," Carlos said, "maybe ask Josie. It’ll be ok."

"Carlos, once again, maybe you're being a bit too trusting," Dana said gently. 

"He is," Cecil said, glaring at Steve and hoping maybe his gaze would melt a hole through him.

"I know," Carlos said, "we can't arrest him? I’m pretty sure planning murder is illegal."

"He's a wizard; he'd weasel his way out of it with magic," Cecil said.

"Can we ask Josie to imprison him?" Carlos asked. "I think there are anti-magic wards."

"She can't without proof of his necromancy," Cecil said. "If she was ever caught with him, she'd just get herself in trouble."

Steve's eyes widened a bit, thinking they hadn't known. He grimaced, moving a hand and using a silent spell, Cecil roaring shortly in pain. It didn't last long, though, because this time, when he shoved Steve firmly against the wall again, he used a pulse of magic to reverse the spell, being well-driven enough to pull it off. Steve yelled, thrashing to try to escape Cecil's hand, which only tightened in response to the point of breaking his neck. His struggling ceased, Cecil blinking and dropping Steve's lifeless body to the ground, the demon mumbling, "Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was a short chapter and for those who liked Steve as a villain I'm sorry but it had to happen because reasons


	35. Aftershock

Carlos blinked, everyone in the room freezing for a moment before he approached cautiously, checking his vitals and finding none. Cecil raised his hands, saying, "I didn't do it," as Lauren screeched, "You monster!" and tried to get to Steve, but Dana held her back.

"Well, I guess we don't have to find a solution now," Carlos mumbled.

"Um...sorry," Cecil said, taking a step back as his tendrils receded into tattoos, Lauren starting to cry. 

Within seconds, a lion bounded down the stairs and into the room, saying, "Lauren," with worry, trotting over and nuzzling her side.

"You ok?" Carlos asked, glancing over Cecil.

Cecil said, "Well, back hurts like a bitch, but there's certainly a weight off my shoulders," as he studied Steve's body, Lauren kneeling to hug Kevin around the neck.

"You alright besides that?" Carlos asked, giving him a gentle hug.

"Yeah, fine," Cecil said softly.

All of a sudden, Lauren stood and shouted, "Where _were_ you? You could have helped save Steve's life!"

Kevin blinked, ears tilting back as he said, "Lauren, they found a way to keep me upstairs, I couldn't..."

"Ralon," she barked, Kevin frowning but fading away, not expecting to be brought back any time soon.

Dana frowned, whispering to Carlos, "I smell love potion on her..."

"Yeah, I know, Steve was making one for her," Carlos murmured, then raised his voice slightly to talk to Lauren, "it wasn't Kevin’s fault."

Lauren said, "I know damn well it wasn't, but if you hadn't 'somehow kept him upstairs' then maybe Steve would still be-" her voice hitched and a tear rolled down her cheek, saying tightly, "I was trying to talk him out of it, you know. You seem like a bright person, but this-" she gestured to Steve- "this is only telling me he was right. Your demon is infecting you; you care more for them than you do for your own kind!"

"Ok, first of all, he was trying to kill me, and shockingly I didn't side with him. Especially as none of the demons here have ever tried to hurt me. And you're..." he glanced to Dana, not sure if it would cause more problems to inform her of the potion.

"She wouldn't buy it," Dana said softly.

Lauren screeched, "So you're just letting them influence you!"

Cecil rubbed his hands over his eyes, sighing, "Maybe it'd be better to let her mourn alone a bit."

"Probably," Carlos mumbled, "can we get her out of the house?"

"I doubt she'll leave without Steve's body," Cecil said.

"Love potions are powerful bastards," Dana nodded in agreement.

"We have to deal with that though," Carlos frowned, "we can't just leave her to it."

"If she doesn't take more doses of it, it'll wear off on its own," Dana said. "I worked with a summoner who had me help her with all kinds of potions."

"Well," Carlos frowned, "we can't just leave her in the basement."

Lauren frowned, new tears still escaping down her cheeks. "I'll be fine," she snapped. "I'll leave when I'm ready."

Carlos glanced to Dana, half-asking if just leaving her was a good idea. Dana said, "She'll be here until the effects wear off, I think. For now, you could bring her a blanket or something, if she plans on spending the night down here with her 'loved one'."

"Ok then," Carlos mumbled, "I’ll grab one, you keep an eye on her." He ran upstairs and grabbed some couch cushions and a blanket.

Cecil and Dana were chatting softly with one another, not paying Lauren or Steve the slightest hint of attention. Dana had been insisting he tell her if he was really hurt, and he continued denying it, though she could tell he was lying and knew he didn't want to upset Carlos. Carlos settled the bedding in a pile near Lauren, asking, "Should we go back upstairs?"

Cecil nodded, "Might as well. We can lock the door behind us if you'd rather."

"Probably," Carlos mumbled, gesturing for the demons to go first. They nodded, walking out the door as Lauren kneeled by Steve, carding a hand through his hair and crying silently. Carlos locked the door, mumbling, "I feel a bit bad for her."

Cecil shook his head, "When the potion wears off, she'll realize she didn't lose much."

"How long would that take?" Carlos asked, leading the way back upstairs.

Dana hummed in thought, "Depends on the dose size, and assuming it was done right."

"Great," Carlos mumbled, opening the door and letting them through first

Cecil was ignoring the fact he was shirtless and bleeding, his mind on way too many other things right now. Dana said, "Should I ah...leave you two alone?" with a ghost of a smirk.

Carlos rolled his eyes, turning Cecil gently to check him and frowning, saying, "Dana, I can send you back any time you want. Should I call Josie?"

"Up to you," Dana shrugged, as Cecil was remaining silent. "Cecil and I have plenty of catching up to do, but we can do that later if you want some privacy."

"Should I get Josie?" Carlos asked again.

Cecil said, "Well she's the only one who could heal me in a hurry, but it's not too bad."

Carlos shared a look with Dana, saying, "I’ll call Josie."

Dana nodded, "Good idea," as she sat Cecil down on the couch, leaning him forward to keep his bloodied back off the furniture.

Carlos asked for Josie loudly, the old woman appearing in a rocking chair in the middle of his room and saying, "Really, dears, I know you're hormonal, but..."

Dana snorted in laughter and covered her mouth with her hand, looking extremely hard-pressed to retain her laughs. Cecil said, "Josie, a lot just happened."

"And it wasn’t me this time," Carlos added, immediately regretting his wording.

Cecil shot Carlos a look, Dana falling over from doubling over in silent laughter, eyes growing watery from crying with mirth. Cecil said, "Well for one, Steve's dead."

Josie frowned, saying, "And I smell blood. What's going on?"

"It's...sort of a long story," Cecil started, Dana sitting up and catching her breath.

"Then I’ll wait till after healing," Josie said, "are you the only one injured?"

"Yes," Cecil nodded, still half lost in his own thoughts and seeming almost deadpanned as compared to usual.

Carlos had noted this, and was planning on asking him later as Josie said, "To be honest, dear, you're so banged up I’d rather cast an overall healing spell. It'll take more power but it will be much quicker."

"Whatever you prefer, Josie," Cecil said flatly. Josie gave him a concerned glance, then looked pointedly at Carlos before casting a long-winded complicated spell that surrounded Cecil in an orb of light that existed for exactly twenty-three seconds before fading again. Cecil took a deep breath, stretching and popping his back as he said, "Thanks."

"Not a problem, dear," she said. "Is there any other way I can be of use?"

Dana sat down in the couch across from Cecil and Carlos, saying, "I dunno. I can give you the story of what I know if these two lovebirds aren't up for talking."

"I don't really know most of what's going on," Carlos admitted, sipping a thermos of hot chocolate and handing one to Cecil.

Cecil took it but didn't drink any, Dana sighing, "Cecil would arguably know the most, or maybe Lauren, but she's having a hissy fit."

"From what I can guess, Cecil got home ahead of me, I think overheard them talking about killing me. And then he got caught, and when I got home I sent him home and got trapped in my room by Kevin, because Lauren had him with her. And then..."

Josie absorbed the information silently, rocking in her chair as she listened and eventually saying, "That is a lot."

Cecil shook his head, sighing, "Steve wanted to kill you because you were starting to lose his trust. He was going to use you for one of his experiments," he grimaced. "Just...he's dead," he mumbled, using a hand to rest his head in as the other held the hot chocolate.

Carlos frowned, glancing to him as Josie said, "i'll discuss what happened and possible next steps with the angels. We might have to do something about Lauren and Steve being dead might need a cover story. Watch out for yourselves, dears," she added, disappearing again after giving Carlos another meaningful look.

Dana said, "Really, dismiss me if you want privacy, or I could make sure Lauren doesn't do something drastic?"

"I don't think she will," Carlos said, "do you want to go home?"

"Truthfully I'm more concerned about Cecil right now, but I'm at your mercy as far as being dismissed goes," she shrugged. "I won't mind whatever you choose."

"Fine," Carlos sighed, "I'll make him explain stuff to you when he gets home. It was nice meeting you."

Dana nodded, "And you. I hope we meet up again sometime."

"Sure," Carlos smiled, "ralon." He watched her disappear before turning to Cecil. Cecil was staring at his thermos, not entirely sure where his current thoughts were taking him. Carlos settled next to him, using a finger to tilt Cecil's head up gently and asking, "What's wrong?"

Cecil glanced to him, saying, "A lot of things right now," softly, moving his head away from Carlos' finger.

"Like what?" Carlos asked, wrapping an arm around the demon.

Cecil shook his head, saying, "Steve being dead, worry for your life, concern for Lauren's mental health, confusion as to why you didn't save yourself when I told you to...realizing I am _really_ not good for you."

"Ok, I’m going to start with the easiest and work my way backwards to the real problems here," Carlos said. "Why is Steve being dead a problem to you?"

"It's not a problem, it's just so...strange," Cecil said. "He's been summoning me for at _least_ , oh, ten human years now. It's just staggering to think about, and knowing I ended up being the one who unintentionally killed him."

"When I first summoned you, you couldn't wait to kill him," Carlos reminded him.

Cecil snorted, "Believe me, I don't regret him being gone. I just thought for all that time I was gonna have to wait for age to kill the stubborn old goat."

"I think you'll adjust to it," Carlos said, "and I’ve been summoning you more, recently."

"I know, I'm thankful for it," Cecil said. "I much prefer you to him, anyway."

"Good," Carlos chuckled, "and I'm sure Lauren will be fine."

Cecil's smile faltered, "That I'm not so sure of. I don't know how great Steve is with potions, but from the little he's had me work with him on them, he wasn't too great. I don't know if he gave her a safe love potion."

"In that case, we'll just have to be careful," Carlos said, "there's nothing for that except to wait and see if it wears off."

"The thing is, if it was made wrong, it might not just wear off. It might have permanent affects, but I suppose there _is_ nothing to do for it now," Cecil sighed.

"There's not," Carlos agreed, kissing his cheek, "and the why didn't I listen to you and try to save myself question, is that really a question?"

"Yes, it was," Cecil said. "He wouldn't kill me unless I was directly threatening him. He was fully prepared to kill you, and it could have happened at any time!"

"You're missing out on a key factor here," Carlos said, "i knew that, and that he could kill you. And even if he couldn't I wouldn't leave you there."

Cecil frowned, "You're still human. I can take a lot of damage before coming close to death, but you? A knife could get the job done. Knowing you're willing to bite a bullet for me only sets me more on edge and makes me worry about your safety."

"Ok," Carlos said, "but, Cecil, if our roles were reversed, would you leave knowing that I was going to spend the next god-knows-how-long being hurt?"

Cecil pondered that and admitted, "No. But I'm used to it. I've never exactly been a demon to follow my summoner's instructions; it's gotten me in trouble on more than one occasion."

"Well, we are alike," Carlos said, "I _have_ been summoning you for a while now."

"I know," Cecil sighed, "I know. Just...forget it, I should've known you'd throw your life at risk for me."

"I love you," Carlos said, giving him a hug, "that's part of it."

Cecil hesitated but hugged him back, gently at first and then somewhat fiercely, saying, "I know we've been over it, but I don't want to lose you. It hasn't been as long for me as it has been for you."

"I know," Carlos said, rubbing his back, "and now there's a lot less threat right now. it's ok."

Cecil took a deep breath, making a deep, rumbling purr before saying, "Was there anything else you wanted to cover?"

"Yeah," Carlos said, "what was that about not being good for me?"

Cecil frowned, pulling back and sighing, "Steve wouldn't have been mad at you if you hadn't summoned me. He might even have asked you to help him in his necromancy studies. I know that sounds insane to you now, but you're still young, as things go. He could have manipulated you, but you would've been safe."

"I would have been studying something horribly immoral and dangerous and _wrong_ and covered in dark magic, manipulated to change my morals, and tricked into stupid things," Carlos said, "how dare you save me from that."

Cecil snorted, "Okay, well, when you put it that way. But be that as it may, what if you hadn't gotten Kevin to help you? He could've killed you, too. And believe me, he would have and still slept like a baby. Anything to do with demons is dangerous."

"I know," Carlos said, "but you didn't force me into this. I picked it, and I still don't regret it."

Cecil sighed, shaking his head and saying, "I think my stubbornness is rubbing off on you, for the worse," though he started to smile.

"Oh, no, I was already incredibly stubborn," Carlos grinned, kissing Cecil's cheek.

Cecil snorted, "I can imagine. By the way, you missed," he added, turning his head and giving Carlos a kiss.

He grinned, kissing him back for a moment before murmuring, "I’m alright, and you're alright, and that's what's important right now."

Cecil nodded, brushing Carlos' jaw with a finger and saying, "I know. Worrying about the future has always been a setback for me."

"Then stop worrying for five minutes," Carlos sighed, kissing his forehead, "you've been through a lot today."

Cecil nodded slowly, sighing, "Alright, fine," and remembering to finally take a drink of hot chocolate. He hummed and said, "Are you sure you don't lace your hot chocolate with some sort of calming potion?"

"I should try that next time," Carlos said, pulling Cecil onto his lap.

Cecil made another small sound with Carlos' action, grumbling, "I'm never gonna get used to that, and I'll be able to tell if you laced it," as he took a sip, leaning against Carlos' chest.

"Then I won't," Carlos grinned, wrapping his arms around Cecil again.

Cecil tucked his legs in, purring contently and sighing, "Sorry for being so paranoid," before he took another sip.

"Don't worry about it," Carlos chuckled, nuzzling into his hair, "I’m glad you're alright."

"And I'm glad the immediate threat to you is gone, but..." Cecil said, pausing, "now that Steve's gone, are you going to keep living in his house?"

Carlos frowned thoughtfully, saying, "No, probably not."

"What are you gonna do with it, then?" Cecil asked. "It's only a matter of time before Lauren recovers and spreads the news of his death, and she might twist the story a bit."

"I know," Carlos frowned, "I’ll have to think about it."

Cecil nodded, saying, "For tonight, we can sleep here, I suppose. I'll have to stay up in case Lauren summons any demons."

"Are you sure?" Carlos frowned, giving him a worried look.

Cecil nodded, "I can live without sleep for a night, it's just comfy when it's with you," he grinned. "Besides, it'd be a precaution."

"I suppose so," Carlos sighed, nuzzling his face into the crook of Cecil's neck.

Cecil said, "Ooof course you could always summon Dana back to do it..."

Carlos snorted, mumbling, "Right," as he re-wrapped his arms around Cecil.

Cecil coughed quietly, mumbling, "So...are you gonna make me do it, or...?"

Carlos chuckled, asking, "Do you want to?"

"I think I've deserved a night's sleep," Cecil said, making puppy-eyes and saying, "I got hurt a lot by bad people today," in a mock self-pitying voice.

"Alright," Carlos said, "we'll have to wait till sunset."

Cecil nodded, "I know, but I think we can find ways to waste time until then," he grinned, taking a drink and tucking his head against the scientist's chest. Carlos chuckled, relaxing and thinking about how comfortable Cecil felt in his arms. Cecil purred, drinking his hot chocolate and sighing, "I'd be content to just stay like this until sunset."

"I can agree with that," Carlos chuckled, rubbing his back.

"That's several hours away," Cecil clarified, turning his head to look at Carlos.

"I know," Carlos said, "that's the idea."

Cecil grinned, cuddling back against his chest and saying, "Thanks."

"It's nothing," Carlos chuckled, kissing his temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and you all thought Carlos would be the one with the issue :P


	36. Hiring a Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love writing Dana <3 and i swear we try to stop cecil and carlos really we do

Cecil eventually scooted off Carlos' lap to lean on his shoulder from the side, enjoying being able to sit in the house without fear of being caught by Steve anymore. They waited until sunset and reluctantly stood, stretching so they could go to the summoning hall to get Dana.

Carlos found it odd to use the actual summoning room for summoning, asking, "Do you want dinner?" as he brushed away remaining salt.

Cecil shrugged, "Fruit sounds good. I think Dana will eat most anything."

Carlos nodded, casting the summoning spell and remembering to step back out of the pentagram. Dana appeared, chuckling, "Wow Cecil, you weren't kidding about him not waiting between summonings."

Cecil said, "I told you, it's like he has a trigger finger for it."

"It seems like a long time to me," Carlos shrugged, "and it was Cecil’s idea."

Cecil said, "Oh like you wouldn't have thought of it."

Dana raised a brow, asking, "What's up?"

"Cecil wanted someone else to stay up and make sure Lauren doesn't do something drastic," Carlos said.

Dana shrugged, "I can do that, but should I bother asking why Cecil can't do it?" she smirked.

"He tends to sleep now," Carlos said, willing his face not to turn red.

"Mmmhm," Dana hummed, raising a brow at Cecil, who narrowed his eyes in return. She grinned, saying, "Alright, I'll make sure she doesn't go anywhere. What should I do if she summons another demon?"

"Probably we shouldn't let her summon other demons," Carlos said.

"So...if she manages it should I suppress the demon or come find you?" Dana asked to clarify.

"Probably both?" Carlos said, glancing to Cecil.

"If I'm suppressing a demon you might just be notified by the house catching fire," Dana warned.

"Good to know," Carlos said, "do you want dinner?"

Dana raised a brow, asking, "Does he do this a lot?" to Cecil.

Cecil nodded, "Yup, get used to it."

Dana shrugged, "Alright, sure. Whatcha got?"

"Um," Carlos "I know we’ve got eggs and beef and bread, i can make pasta and there's fruit but I don’t know what you eat."

"Hm, beef sandwich I can deal with right now. Haven't had meat from this side of the realms for a long time," she said.

"Josie said cooked salt should be ok," Carlos said, "there's probably some salt in the meat, though."

Dana shrugged, "I think as far as salt goes, the pure substance is the worst for us. Simmered down should be fine."

"Alright," Carlos said, "Cecil, there's a bowl of cut fruit in the fridge."

Cecil purred, rubbing his head against Carlos' like a cat giving thanks before leading the way to the kitchen. "Does _he_ do _this_ a lot?" Carlos asked, headed to the kitchen.

"Well, I'm jumpy and restless like a bird, so I imagine his animal mannerisms seep through as well," Dana shrugged. "He can be very affectionate."

"I've noticed," Carlos mumbled, grabbing bread and beef for the sandwiches.

Dana chuckled, "I'm suuure you have," and stuck her tongue out slightly at Carlos' back.

Carlos rolled his eyes, handing a sandwich to Dana and saying, "There's fruit, and there's still some ice cream."

"Ice cream?" she asked, taking a bite of the sandwich. 

Cecil said, "It's magical," as he ate some cubes of melon.

"Its... I’ll show you later, Cecil will want some," Carlos said, nibbling his own sandwich.

Cecil grinned, Dana saying, "Oookay," with some skepticism, continuing her dinner.

Carlos cleaned their dinner plates, taking out the ice cream and saying, "The only flavor we have is chocolate cookie dough."

"Mm, sounds good to me," Cecil said, hovering over Carlos' shoulder with excitement, Dana grinning to herself, as she hadn't seen Cecil so happy in a long time.

Carlos grabbed bowls, saying, "Remember only small bites," as he set the kettle on.

Dana said, "I'll try to keep that in mind."

Cecil asked, "Do you plan on spilling some again?" with a wide smirk.

"I swear, Cecil," Carlos mumbled, scooping ice cream into bowls.

Dana raised an amused brow, asking, "Do I wanna know?" as she sat at the table and leaned back.

"No," Carlos said, handing her ice cream and a spoon and handing Cecil the same.

Cecil said, "Thanks, and no, you don't," as he sat down across from Dana.

Dana said, "I don't know, you're both makin' me curious."

"No," Carlos repeated, starting on his ice cream.

Cecil quietly started on his own, Dana whining, "Come ooonnn. If the house starts fire I won't warn you," she threatened.

"We're not discussing it," Carlos said, taking another spoonful

"Alright, I'll laugh when I hear your screams," she said, Cecil only not getting insulted because he knew Dana wasn't like that.

"I'd think it's worth it," Carlos mumbled, taking another bite of ice cream.

Dana raised a brow, "An embarrassing story is worth burning alive? Now I've _got_ to know."

"This is your fault," Carlos said, looking to Cecil.

"You didn't object," Cecil mumbled, taking a bite of ice cream.

"I kind of did," Carlos said, taking another spoonful.

Dana glanced between them, asking, "Did you get married while I was gone?"

"No," Carlos mumbled, "eat the ice cream."

Dana chuckled, "I'll find out eventually, even if I have to wrestle Cecil for it."

Cecil's gaze snapped to her, saying, "You wouldn't dare."

"I've won the wrestling match before and I'll do it again," Dana warned, taking a bite and humming in approval.

"Look what you did," Carlos mumbled, scooping more onto his spoon.

Cecil sighed, "It was nothing, Dana, I helped him clean up a spill."

She raised a brow, taking a bite and asking, "Tha's all?" around the mouthful.

"Withmytongue," Cecil mumbled quickly, taking a bite as Dana choked on hers.

"I hate you," Carlos mumbled, standing to make the hot chocolate.

"Love you, too," Cecil grinned, taking another bite as Dana recovered.

"It was _not_ my idea," Carlos repeated, grabbing mugs.

Cecil said, "No, but it _was_ your accident," he smirked.

"That doesn't... nevermind," Carlos mumbled, stirring the drinks.

Dana said, "Like I said I will leave at any time if you two wanna be left alone," with a huge smile.

"No... no it's fine," Carlos said, "it's... nevermind." He handed out the hot chocolates.

Dana chuckled, taking the mug and sipping some as Cecil did the same. Cecil said, "As a topic changer, maybe you should open a demon daycare. You could make them pay rent."

"I still don't know what kind of money you use," Carlos said, "or if demons have children."

Dana shrugged, "Not really kids, but I'd certainly come back if you were gonna feed me ice cream and hot chocolate."

"Cecil likes sugar," Carlos shrugged, "and he got excited with all the different things humans use it for."

Cecil said, "There are technically some younger demons, but they'd all appear adolescent to you," as he sipped his cocoa.

"There aren't baby demons?" Carlos asked, trying to picture it.

"Not really, no," Cecil said.

Dana added, "As long as I can remember, new demons just sorta...crop up once in awhile, but they always seem to skip the toddler stage and go right to being a teen or young adult, usually."

"Right," Carlos said, still trying to picture Cecil as a baby.

Cecil said, "And since we age slower, it just happens that there aren't actually many demons that appear old. The ones that do are stronger, as I've mentioned to you."

"Do you get stronger with age?" Carlos asked, still a bit unsure about how demons were classed.

Dana nodded, "Yeah, Cecil and I are about the same age, but I'm a bit younger."

Cecil said, "I'm about...oh, mid-range age. I'm older than a lot of demons, but there are still some older than me." Carlos nodded, absorbing the information and sipping his hot chocolate.

Dana said, "Hope you don't mind knowing your boyfriend is ancient by your terms," with a grin, taking a drink.

"We already talked about it," Carlos said, finding it somewhat odd that he didn't have to be worried about Steve walking in on them.

Cecil nodded, "And I'm forever grateful he doesn't mind." Carlos shrugged, finishing his ice cream.

Dana chuckled, "I'm glad for you. Do I have to give Carlos the 'if you break his heart' speech?"

"No," Carlos said, "Josie's already talked to both of us."

Dana said, "Ah, I'm sure she has. How is she?"

"Doing fine, pampering her angels and such as always," Cecil informed.

"And mothering Cecil very effectively," Carlos mumbled, glancing sideways at the demon.

Cecil glared in return, Dana smirking, "She always does."

"She bakes good cookies," Carlos said.

Dana grinned, "That too. She always has, and she won't share her recipe," she pouted.

"I wonder if she has some kind of salt substitute in it," Carlos said.

Cecil said, "You'd have to ask her. In the meantime, Dana, we haven't checked on Lauren all day..."

"I'll get her when I'm done," Dana said, taking another bite of ice cream.

"I haven't heard any activity," Carlos said, "so hopefully she's just absorbing what happened."

Dana nodded, "If the potion hasn't worn off yet, she'll still be in mourning, I imagine. Love potions make you absolutely, unequivocally obsessed with the one who made it."

"I'm just hoping it was made right," Carlos said, "he spent ages on it, but I don't know."

Dana shook her head, "I'd have to see a sample of the potion he gave her to make sure."

"He 'dropped' the container and broke it," Carlos said, "I don’t think there _is_ a sample."

Dana said, "I wasn't hoping there would be. If it was done wrong, there could be all sorts of side affects depending on what went wrong..."

"I think he got all of the ingredients all right," Carlos said. "He had me help."

Dana said, "Even mixing something too long or adding something at the wrong time could've messed it up. Potions are tricky." Carlos nodded, finishing his drink and setting his dishes in the sink.

Cecil sighed, "Well, we'll hope for her sake that it was done right and will wear off without any permanent effects."

"Hopefully," Carlos mumbled, sitting again.

Dana cleaned out her bowl with an equally long tongue to Cecil's, only hers was forked. She licked her lips and said, "Alright, I'll be chugging this hot chocolate and going to check on her."

"You could take it with you," Carlos said, "it's a bit cold down there.”

"Good point," she mused, thinking on it and nodding, "alright, I'll see you two in the morning. Don't break the second floor down or anything," she smirked as she walked towards the stairs. Carlos groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose before clearing her bowl to the sink.

"It's a fair warning," Cecil mumbled, finishing up his own dessert.

"The bed, maybe, but the floor?" Carlos asked, clearing his dish as well.

Cecil rubbed his neck, coughing quietly and taking his bowl to the sink, saying, "I dunno," innocently.

"Right," Carlos said, "of course."

Cecil said, "Get yourself turned into a demon and we'll find out," he smirked, patting Carlos' back.

He mumbled, "Because that'll happen," as he started the dishes.

Cecil frowned, "I know," as he sat on the counter, drinking his hot chocolate and adding, "I can dream."

"I don’t think I’d make a good demon anyways," Carlos chuckled, patting Cecil's shoulder.

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "What makes you say that?"

"Shouldn't I be at least a little intimidating?" he said.

"I've known plenty of demons who aren't scary," Cecil said. "You warm up to it when you realize most of the people that summon you are gonna treat you poorly."

"Well, _that_ I wouldn't mind as much," Carlos sighed.

"You think you wouldn't," Cecil mumbled, drinking more cocoa.

"Well, I did work in retail for a while," Carlos said, "and no, I don't think I’d mind that much."

Cecil said, "You're lucky you don't have to find out."

"You're probably right," Carlos said, rinsing the dishes and setting them to dry. When Carlos was done, Cecil walked up behind him and hooked his arms around Carlos' stomach again, nuzzling his hair. "Hey," Carlos chuckled, leaning back slightly.

"Hey," Cecil said, "did I ever mention how comfy you can be?" as he rested his head on top of Carlos'.

"No, not really," Carlos said, lacing their fingers together.

Cecil grinned, saying, "Well you are."

"I’m glad," Carlos said, "because you're comfortable too."

Cecil replied, "How often am I gonna have to remind you of that?" against Carlos' ear.

"I don't know," Carlos grinned, "cuddling more might help, though."

Cecil chuckled softly, "I can do that," as he nipped Carlos' ear.

He shuddered minutely, saying, "I thought we weren't supposed to break the floor."

"We can move to your bed if you prefer that being broken to the floor," Cecil replied. "Besides, might be embarrassing if we crash into Dana."

"'Might'," Carlos mumbled, taking Cecil's hand and leading him upstairs.


	37. A Plan for Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think it's pretty official *dramatic pause*  
> there's going to be a sequel to this fic with a slightly upped rating!! :D though mainly for gore/cursing purposes, yknowww maybe a few other rating reasons cough

Cecil woke up with his arm around Carlos, his nose buried in the human's hair on the nape of his neck. He cracked an eye open to glance around at the damage for this round, grinning tiredly when he noted there were less bruises. He shut his eye again and settled, taking a deep breath and purring upon exhaling. Carlos remained asleep curled up with one hand over the side of the bed, as he'd been missing enough sleep recently to hibernate for days.

Cecil used a tentacle to slowly shift Carlos' hand back onto the bed, shifting backwards but gently tugging Carlos with him to center them better. He shivered a bit, not thinking it through and ending up placing himself in a colder part of the sheets, but ignored it for the sake of the otherwise extremely comfortable spoon. "Mornin'" Carlos mumbled, shifting slightly and keeping his eyes closed.

"Morning," Cecil returned, running the tip of his index finger down the middle of Carlos' chest, "sleep well?"

"Mmm," Carlos mumbled, "it was nice to get a full night."

"Glad I could help," Cecil grinned, kissing his neck, "and glad I didn't have to spend a night in the cellar."

"Definitely," Carlos said, squeezing Cecil's hand lightly.

Cecil allowed them to sit in silence a minute before saying, "We're gonna have to call Josie again."

"I can live with it," Carlos mumbled, "we called her yesterday."

"I don't think she'd mind, but if you plan on going anywhere you're gonna have to get those bruises healed unless you want to play twenty questions with everyone you pass," Cecil pointed out.

"I’ll wear a shirt," Carlos said.

"Hm, don't know if I can allow that," Cecil smiled into the crook of his neck.

"Places don’t let you in without a shirt," Carlos reminded him, "it's a policy."

"Stupid policy," Cecil grumbled, shifting his arm to rest around Carlos' stomach.

"Well, most people don't want to see that," Carlos said, flipping over to face Cecil.

Cecil made a thoughtful expression, rolling his violet eyes towards the ceiling before looking back to Carlos and saying, "They're missing out, but hey, more for me," before touching their noses together. Carlos grinned, running a hand along Cecil's back and glad to feel that it was almost completely healed. Cecil shut his eyes as a reaction to his back being pet, purring almost instantly and saying, "By the way, no report from Dana last night. I'm not entirely sure she didn't take pictures of us sleeping, but..."

"We can check later," Carlos said, kissing Cecil's cheek.

Cecil said, "Alright. I think it's safe to assume Lauren hasn't left, but then again, Dana might have wanted to let us get our sleep."

"We should get up," Carlos said, shifting to do just that.

"Alright," Cecil pouted, rolling out of his way and stretching, folding his tentacles back around his arms and pulling on pants. He slung the shirt over his shoulder, not much in the mood to put it on, even to cover his own array of dark patches of skin.

Carlos stood, stretching and grabbing a fresh pair of boxers as he said, "We do need groceries."

"Seeing as we don't need permission anymore, I at least suggest we see to it that Lauren leaves first," Cecil suggested.

"Sure," Carlos said, getting dressed and combing through his hair with his fingers.

Cecil said, "You don't have to make yourself presentable for Dana; let's go," before ushering Carlos towards the door.

"My hair should at least look semi-human," Carlos grumbled, heading down the stairs.

Cecil snorted, "It's always perfect," as he ruffled it.

"You seem to think so," Carlos said, heading down the second flight of steps.

"I know so," Cecil countered, walking fluidly and tilting his head when he heard someone in the kitchen. Carlos frowned, pausing and turning towards the kitchen.

Turns out it was only Dana with her head in the fridge, rifling around and pulling out a block of cheese to inspect as she already had a stalk of celery hanging out of her mouth. She was chewing on it like a farmer might a blade of grass, looking over and saying, "Mornin'," around her breakfast.

"Morning," Carlos said, "is Lauren the same?"

"Sat by him all night," she said with a look of pity. "If it was a traditional potion, it should wear off sometime today."

"Did she seem otherwise stable?" Carlos asked.

Dana hissed in a breath and said, "That depends on your definition of stable. If I tried to talk to her she'd glare at me and go back to crying. I'm surprised she has any water left in her."

"I'll bring her a glass," Carlos said, "...actually, maybe a paper cup."

"Good idea," Dana nodded.

Cecil asked, "Should we start making breakfast or anything?"

"You can start on a breakfast," Carlos said. "Do you know how to cook?"

Dana said, "I know more about it than he does. Your ingredients aren't _too_ different. Fancy an omelet and bacon? I can fix Cecil a smoothie?"

"Sure," Carlos said, grabbing a paper cup.

Cecil asked, "What's a smoothie?"

"It's like a granaja," Dana said as though the word were perfectly normal.

"Ooh, sounds good," Cecil grinned.

Dana said, "Grab your favorite fruits from the fridge, and the...shoot, what are they...eggs?"

"In a smoothie?" Carlos said, making a face.

"In the omelet," Dana gave him a sideways grin as Cecil started rummaging through the fridge, she taking another bite of her celery.

"Oh good," Carlos mumbled, filling the glass with water, "good."

Dana said, "Although, that's not a bad idea," as she pointed her celery nowhere in particular as she thought. Cecil was used to her antics, knowing she was easily distracted and a very inquisitive demon.

"Yes it is," Carlos said, heading towards the basement stairs with the cup.

"You should try a granaja," Dana called to him as she searched through the drawers for utensils.

Carlos headed down the stairs into the no-longer-secret room, pushing the door open and frowning when he walked in. There was still blood splattered on the floor, a broken pentagram and salt scattered on the grey stones, but the only occupants of the room were a few roaches climbing the walls. There was no sign of Lauren or Steve's body.

After a brief search of the house they concluded that Lauren was no longer in the building, and as such Dana had been sent home and Carlos cleaned the remaining mess in the cellar, getting used to the idea of Steve being gone.

Cecil was helping remove the bloodstains, saying, "Oh, Carlos..." slowly, remembering the extra hidden room below the pentagram.

"Mm?" Carlos asked, scrubbing at the pentagram.

"There's...something else we should look into, though maybe not until Josie gets here," Cecil said, "assuming you're gonna call her."

"Why?" Carlos asked, glancing over his shoulder at Cecil.

"Because there's another hidden room under the pentagram you're erasing?" Cecil admitted sheepishly.

" _Cecil_ ," Carlos said, turning to properly give him a look, "why didn't you mention that before?"

Cecil flinched back, saying, "A lot was happening as it was. Besides, Steve might have some sort of undead guardian down there, if that's actually where he was practicing necromancy."

"Great," Carlos mumbled, "should we not check it now?"

"That's why I suggested asking Josie about it, or maybe making one of her angels check it out," Cecil replied. "I mean, they already offered."

"We probably should," Carlos said, "but probably after we finish here."

Cecil nodded, "Right, the blood stains are gone. You calling Josie after this for advice?"

"Probably," Carlos said, "or we can see her in person, if this isn't super urgent."

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "I think staying in the house of a murder scene is a bit dangerous."

"Should we walk to see her?" Carlos said, "I don’t think I can stay here anyways."

"Either way," Cecil shrugged. "Who knows where Lauren went, but you're just...not safe alone."

"While you're probably right, you can't spend your whole life worrying about me," Carlos said.

"I won't have to, but it'll take a dew human decades until I don't have to," he said with a small smile.

Carlos rolled his eyes, "Really, it's not that big of a deal."

Cecil said, "Well, nothing is happening to you on my watch."

"Nothing _has_ happened to me, thanks to you," Carlos chuckled.

"And I plan to keep it that way," Cecil said matter-of-factly.

"Just don't stress about it too much," Carlos said, leaning forwards to kiss him.

When they parted, Cecil said, "I'll try not to," with a small smile, brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes.

"You'd better not," Carlos said, "come on, i think this is pretty clean."

Cecil nodded, saying, "Humans first," as he stood by the door with a smirk.

"Age before beauty," Carlos smirked back.

"Science before demon," Cecil insisted, nodding towards the stairs.

"Top goes first," Carlos grinned.

"I'm not entirely sure that counts, or was ever a thing," Cecil said, narrowing his eyes in amusement all the same.

"But science before demons counts?" Carlos said.

"It makes more sense at least," Cecil scoffed but gave up and went through the door into the usual cellar room.

"I don't think so," Carlos said, shutting the door after them.

"Okay but you're perfect; how does that not warrant going first?" Cecil asked, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

"I get a really good view following you up,” Carlos grinned.

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "Careful what you wish for; I've been told it's a bit distracting," with a grin, starting up the stairs.

"Trust me it is," Carlos mumbled, heading up the stairs.

"I heard that," Cecil said over his shoulder, resisting the urge to show off.

"I was distracted for ages," Carlos said, "it was getting ridiculous."

Cecil snorted, "Is that so?" as he stopped at the top of the stairs, no longer able to resist and turning his torso halfway to Carlos, setting his hand on his hip.

"Yes," Carlos chuckled, stopping at the step one below the top and grinning at him.

Cecil shook his head a bit and said, "Well then I'm sorry for being so distracting," as he turned and moved out of the way.

"You probably couldn't help it," Carlos grinned, moving up a step and standing only a few inches shorter that Cecil.

Cecil grinned, "You're right, and apparently don't want me to stop," he added as he ruffled Carlos' hair.

"What's the fun in that?" he said, "come on, we should probably get to Josie's."

Cecil nodded, "If you insist. She can give us something for the bruises again."

"I almost feel bad having her do that," Carlos said.

Cecil shrugged, "It's no effort on her part."

"Well, more of a 'hey guess what we just did' type thing," Carlos admitted.

Cecil sighed, "She gave us lube and condoms on the first visit to her house and you think she'd be surprised we ask for a bruise healer once in awhile?"

"Twice in two days," Carlos mumbled, searching around for his shoes.

"Well...fair enough," Cecil said under his breath, somewhat glad Carlos didn't ask about the condoms, as Cecil had never told him.

"Ah hah," Carlos mumbled, finding his shoes behind a door and sliding them on quickly.

"You ready, then?" Cecil asked, moving to open the front door.

"Sure," Carlos said, hopping on one foot to tie his shoelaces.

Cecil bit back his laughter, an amused expression still clear on his face as he asked, "Need help with that?" and resisted the urge to push him over.

"No," Carlos grunted, finally getting the laces tied and straightening.

"I could have had a tentacle tie them you know, or there might be a spell for it," Cecil said, standing aside with the door still open.

"But it's probably simpler to just tie my laces," Carlos said, heading out the door.

Cecil shrugged, "Depends on how lazy you want to be," as he followed Carlos, shutting and locking the door behind himself with a quick pulse of magic.

"I'm not that lazy yet," Carlos grinned, starting down the sidewalk.

"Probably a good thing, especially for me," Cecil smirked, following a step behind him.

"Don't start," Carlos warned, offering his hand.

Cecil took it, once again needing to resist the urge to use his tentacles while they were in public. "You make it too easy."

"You take every possible opportunity," Carlos said, heading down the path to Josie's.

"Of course I do, what else am I supposed to do to bug you while I'm here?" Cecil asked, bumping sideways into him.

"You're here almost all the time now," Carlos reminded him.

"Yeah, but I don't have many ways to annoy you yet," Cecil said.

"'Yet'," Carlos mumbled, turning one of the street corners.

"Yet," Cecil nodded in agreement, wondering how Josie would take to the new bruises. Carlos started swinging Cecil's arm as they walked, not really thinking about it and somewhat enjoying the day, although he was starting to realize that soon it would be getting cold. Cecil pretended to ignore people's looks as Carlos swung his arm back and forth, letting him have his fun. Cecil was glad it happened to be mostly cloudy out, and felt his eyes narrow at a dog being walked across the street.

Carlos was watching the trees as they passed, saying, "Don't even think about it," without looking at the dog.

"It's in my nature to dislike dogs," Cecil grumbled, not able to focus on the path in front of them.

"Then dislike it quietly from a distance," Carlos said, keeping him moving forwards. Cecil growled softly, the dog turning its head towards him and barking, the owner glancing to it. "Cecil," Carlos warned, tugging him along and giving the dog a look.

Cecil said, "That was insulting!" quietly, making a soft, distressed sounding meow that made the dog bark again.

"Well," Carlos sighed, continuing to drag him away, "what'd it say?"

"He called my hair funny," Cecil huffed.

"It's a dog, it doesn't know anything about hair," Carlos said, "and your hair isn't funny."

"Dogs are more intelligent than humans give them credit for. Cats are smarter, of course, but still," Cecil said, throwing a glare at the dog and briefly changing his features to have cat eyes and fangs, baring his teeth and making the dog whimper and try to run faster.

" _Cecil_ ," Carlos frowned, giving the dog's owner a reassuring smile.

The dog's owner only barely saw the smile before having to turn his attention to his dog. Cecil switched his features back to normal, saying, "I had to assert my dominance," simply, continuing to walk as if nothing had happened.

"Over a dog," Carlos said, glad the dog and owner were moving on.

"Yes, do you know how territorial dogs can be? I can't let it go around thinking it bested a demon; I'd never hear the end of it at home," Cecil scoffed.

"They wouldn't know at home," Carlos reminded him, turning again and crossing the street.

"They'd find out," Cecil grumbled.

"Of course," Carlos mumbled, slowing as they reached Josie’s house. Cecil hopped up the stairs, knocking on the door, which was once again opened immediately by an angel, who half-bowed and welcomed them into the house.

~~~~~~~~~

Lauren left as soon as Dana had gone upstairs. She used a spell to lift Steve's body beside her and snuck up the stairs, also using a muffling spell on her footsteps so even a demon couldn't hear her leaving. She dropped Steve's body off in a secret room on her own cellar and summoned a demon named Hiram to guard the house while she went out to find a particular person.

She checked a few bars, finally seeing a man with dark hair who had a feather braided into it. She walked up to the man seated in the corner. He looked up, golden brown eyes catching a glint of light as she asked, "You're the apache tracker?" softly. 

"I am known by that," he replied with a heavy accent, watching her curiously.

"I have a little problem," she answered, sitting down.

"What sort of problem?" he asked, his voice rich and sounding full of wisdom.

Lauren lowered her voice and leaned forward, whispering, "A demon problem."

A smile caught the corner of his lips as he steepled his fingers and replied, "I'm listening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaaaay new characters :D


	38. The Demon Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ssoooo i may have just accepted the fact that weve sortve been spelling Carlsberg as Carlsburg this whole time.....  
> yeah sorry if that was bothering the ever loving hell out of anyone thats my honest mistake but im not gonna go back and change them all ^o^'

Carlos followed Cecil in, blinking when they spotted Josie knitting in the parlor, with all the angels seated around her, knitting as well. Josie was humming as the angels worked, somehow all having four arms rather than two, some swaying back and forth to her music. She glanced up, grinning and saying, "Hello, dears. Has everything been sorted out?"

Cecil said, "Well, somewhat. Lauren and Steve went missing..."

"Steve's body," Josie clarified, frowning.

"Yes, his body," Cecil confirmed. "Dana came upstairs to grab breakfast thinking she'd stay down there, only she didn't."

"I'll have to keep a tab on her," Josie said, "we should make sure she doesn't do anything rash."

Cecil nodded, "I agree; I don't think the love potion she took was safe."

"Oh dear," Josie frowned, Carlos saying "and Cecil thinks he found a trap door that might be where Steve hid his necromancy tools."

Cecil nodded, saying, "Beneath the cellar he locked me in."

"We'll investigate it," Josie said, glancing to Erika.

A taller angel nodded, saying, "As you wish," before disappearing in a flash of light.

Carlos nudged Cecil, mouthing 'why don't you do that' to him. Cecil narrowed his eyes, mouthing 'Because I'm not a pompous-' before having to stop when Josie looked up.

"Anything else to report?" Josie asked, knowing full well what they had been 'talking' about. Cecil shook his head slowly, not wanting to bring up the bruises if Carlos didn't want to.

"Not really," Carlos said, "I think we're good."

Cecil said, "Well, there _is_ the matter of where Carlos is staying."

"I don't think I can stay in that house," he admitted as Josie nodded thoughtfully.

Cecil said, "He'll have to pack up all his supplies and maybe clear out some of Steve's equipment, but once it's found out Steve is dead the police will be all over his house."

"Plus I wouldn't want to live there anyways," Carlos said, "but... my family lives north, in the city and they wouldn't approve of magic." Cecil frowned at that, twiddling his thumbs.

"We might be able to work something out, dear," Josie said.

Cecil nodded, "For the time being, could he stay here?" sheepishly.

"I have enough empty rooms to house an entire army, I’m sure I could spare him one," Josie smiled, winking at Carlos.

Cecil chuckled shortly, saying, "Thanks."

"Just don't make too much noise," Josie smirked, looking back to him.

Cecil cleared his throat, glancing away and studying the ceiling as the angels quietly pretended like they didn't know what she meant. Carlos blushed, saying, "I should still pack my stuff."

Cecil nodded quickly, "I can help with that if you need it."

"Get along then, dears," Josie said, "I’ll set about finding a good room."

"Thank you," Cecil said, somewhat glad they hadn't sat down.

"Thank you," Carlos echoed, Josie grinning at them and making little shooing motions.

They left the house, Cecil mumbling, "She's never gonna let it go," under his breath.

"Nope," Carlos sighed, taking Cecil's hand again.

Cecil's hand closed around Carlos' automatically as they walked off. He said, "In all honesty, I hope you don't have to stay with Josie long. I'm not sure if her angels will make better company than a demon."

"I think demons are pretty good company," Carlos grinned.

"I'm glad, I'd hate to have been annoying you this whole time," Cecil gave him a sideways smirk.

"I’d still put up with it," Carlos said, turning the corner off Josie’s house.

"Good to know," Cecil said, suddenly feeling like they were being watched. Carlos smiled, heading down the street and smelling sulfur. Cecil glanced around, not seeing anything and saying, "Carlos, maybe we should take a...less open road home?" softly.

"Uh, sure," Carlos said, looking to him, "why?"

"I feel..." Cecil started, still glancing about but stilling just long enough for a rifle to be heard going off in the distance. Cecil blinked, not registering anything at first, then all at once feeling a burning pain in his chest. He swallowed his next word, not able to form a coherent thought as he brought a hand to his chest, feeling blood.

Carlos started at the noise, glancing around before looking to Cecil, cursing and starting to panic. Cecil growled, "Good thing I have two hearts," as he followed the trajectory path of the bullet to a man on a roof across the street some distance away from them. His irises flashed purple, saying, "Get Josie, I'll be fine," before sprinting across the street, diving into a roll and taking refuge behind a cart, biting his lip and plugging the hole in his chest with a tentacle.

"Cecil!" Carlos shouted, torn between following the instruction for help and going to Cecil himself. He ended up running for Josie, calling for her as he did and watching her appear standing.

The man had taken the smart move and fled the roof, though he knew his hunt was far from over. Cecil used a magic pulse, not sensing the man and frowning, as any living thing in a half-mile radius would have been picked up. He probably knew how to use a concealment charm. Figures. Cecil jogged to the sidewalk and just into an alley, leaning against the wall of a house for better cover.

Carlos led Josie back, the old woman moving surprisingly quickly to follow him. Cecil wanted to follow the tracker, probably would have killed him by now in fact, all if he didn't have a hole in his chest. He growled, making the smarter choice and slumping against the wall to sink to the ground and sit to wait for them.

Carlos reached him first, kneeling in front of him with wide eyes as Josie arrived. Cecil was breathing through his mouth, saying, "I'm alright," as he held a hand over the tentacle that was keeping most of the blood inside him.

Josie brushed Carlos aside gently, saying, "I'm going to need to see the damage, dear." Cecil looked up at her, eyes no longer glowing as he moved his hand but left the tentacle. She frowned, "All of it, dear. I've got it." He nodded, trusting her enough to take her advice as he slowly removed the tattoo. Carlos winced, Josie setting her hand over the wound and saying, "You were shot with a bullet filled with salt."

"That'd explain it," Cecil said tightly, his voice a tad higher pitched than usual.

"I have to dissolve the salt," Josie said, "it's going to be painful. And the wound is severe enough that i can only partially mend it."

"Whatever ensures I don't bleed out, Josie," Cecil said, not much in the mood for being told he was about to be put in more pain.

"I'm sorry, dear," she said, Carlos taking Cecil's hand as she started a spell.

Cecil's jaw clenched, back arching as he bit back a groan of pain. He tried not to tighten his hand to the extent of breaking any bones, but it was proving difficult. Carlos rubbed his thumb on the back of Cecil's hand, mumbling quiet encouragement as Josie worked.

Cecil hissed in a breath, his tattoos writhing furiously as he forced them not to manifest and impale something else. Josie winced in sympathy, dissolving the rest in a brief, more painful but quicker-lived flash. Cecil stopped breathing due to the pain, gasping for breath but feeling relief when it was over, putting a hand over the used-to-be hole and saying, "Thanks," a bit weakly.

Josie nodded, "I repaired the bleeding, but there's still a lot of damage. You should avoid activity for a few days."

Cecil nodded, saying, "Noted. I hope you didn't just waste too much magic on me."

"It's not a waste, dear," she said, "don't worry about it."

Cecil frowned, saying, "It's already been done, I guess. But I'm not sure it's safe for Carlos to go to Steve's alone anymore."

"I'll send an angel," Josie said, "Erika will know what to take."

"Did the other one come back from investigating the cellar?" Cecil asked with concern.

"Not yet, dear," Josie said, "but it hasn't been that long."

"What if Steve left a Guardian?" Cecil asked, eyes flicking to Carlos and back to Josie, the word apparently implying a lot more than what it sounded.

"Erika can handle himself," Josie said, "don't worry." Cecil frowned, nodding slowly as a tentacle finally cracked and uncurled itself to wrap around Carlos. "Your job right now is to heal," Josie said, "you're going to stay at least overnight at my house."

"It wouldn't be better to go home?" Cecil asked.

"I want to be able to keep an eye on you," Josie said, not mentioning that she was concerned about Lauren summoning him. Cecil hesitated and nodded again, knowing she probably had her reasons and figuring Carlos would prefer it that way as well. "I think we can get you there fairly painlessly," Josie said, "we're just around the corner."

"Thankfully so," Cecil said, slowly attempting to stand and wincing, continuing up anyway. Carlos frowned, helping him up and keeping a hand on his back. Cecil tried not to lean too heavily on his boyfriend, saying, "Let's go," with a nod toward Josie's house.

Carlos nodded, Josie saying, "And don't try to rush yourself, Cecil, I had to restart your heart."

"I'm not surprised, though there might've been an alternate method to that," Cecil said, looking to Carlos with a grin, typically cracking jokes even though he was hurt.

Carlos rolled his eyes, Josie saying, "I'll go tell the angels what's going on."

Cecil said, "Thanks again," as Carlos helped him walk slowly, Josie disappearing with a flash.


	39. Tracking Lauren

Carlos kept a close eye on Cecil, walking with him and rubbing a hand on his back. Cecil said, "So why is it always me taking the hits unless we're in bed?" with a sly smile.

Carlos smiled, “I guess it has to even itself out."

Cecil chortled, "I guess it does, but I still feel bad for taking it out on you."

"Don't be," Carlos snorted, making sure he kept his slow pace.

"Don't tell me you're going to escort me everywhere for the next week?" Cecil asked.

"Well, you can probably go to the bathroom alone," Carlos smiled.

Cecil rolled his eyes, "I should hope so. If I take longer than five minutes you'll know something's wrong."

"I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said, "how do you feel?"

"Sore, tired, mad at whoever shot me," Cecil pondered as they slowly approached her steps.

"Physically," Carlos clarified, although he was also rather intent on the idea of locating the shooter.

"Certainly better than it used to be, with the salt out of my system," Cecil said.

"They knew what they were doing," Carlos mumbled.

"They certainly did, but I don't know that wizards have ever necessarily hunted demons, and Lauren isn't a sharpshooter. It was a man," Cecil said.

"We'll have to look into it," Carlos said, "he might come back."

"Probably will, assuming he had a reason for shooting me," Cecil frowned. "At any rate, he certainly wanted me dead."

"We're going to have to be careful," Carlos said, "I’d want to send you home, but... I don't want Lauren to summon you."

Cecil said, "That's a good point. Did you think more on the summoning lock?"

"I've been trying to," Carlos said, "I need a little more research."

Cecil nodded, saying, "Good luck with it. Just...don't go overboard for my sake. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I wont," Carlos said, "I’m just concerned about getting you stuck somewhere you don't want to be."

"It's not that I don't want to be here," Cecil said. "If anything, staying here is just a bit more dangerous."

"That's also a concern," Carlos frowned, "and for all i know, it might get you stuck at home."

Cecil shrugged, "It'd stop be from being summoned by anyone like Steve again, but it'd get damn boring I suppose. For now, it's worth the risk."

"Ok," Carlos frowned, "I’ll look into it."

"Josie should be able to help you," Cecil said, slowly walking up the steps.

"Right," Carlos said, helping him up, "as long as you're sure."

"If you're gonna lose sleep over the possibility of me getting summoned by Lauren, then yes," Cecil assured.

Carlos frowned, opening the door for them and seeing an angel with hand extended, having been prepared to open it for them. Cecil nodded to the angel, entering the house with Carlos at his side and moving to sit on a couch. Carlos sat next to him, keeping a hand around his shoulders and saying, "I should make tea."

"If you want to," Cecil shrugged. "I'm alright with water or something, too."

"Tea is better," Carlos said, Josie saying, "I can't help but agree," as she walked over with mugs.

Cecil chuckled, "It appears Josie is ahead of you, Carlos." Josie grinned, handing them mugs of tea and going to distribute the rest to the angels. "Thanks," Cecil said before taking a sip, humming as Josie added a lot of honey and sugar. Carlos sipped his, noting that it seemed to be honeyed to a normal amount and smiling. Cecil asked, "So, where's the guest room?"

"I'll show you there in a few minutes," Josie said, "it's nearby."

"If you say so," Cecil said. "What should we do about Lauren?"

"Locating her and finding out how the spell effected her is first, dear," Josie said.

Cecil nodded, musing, "Dana is pretty good at being able to tell that sort've thing, but maybe an angel could locate her?"

"And I could ask the police to look," Josie said, "I’m not sure how out of her mind she'd appear."

"Hard to say," Cecil said thoughtfully. "Although I'm sure Dana wouldn't mind helping to track her either. Then again, with a demon hunter around, it might not be safe for us."

"I don't want to risk anyone we don't have to," Carlos agreed.

Cecil said, "So the only thing to do is plan."

"And before that we have to find her," Josie said, "she won't have gone far."

"She might've sent whoever the hunter was after me," Cecil pointed out.

"All the more reason to find her," Josie said. "Do you know if she has family around here?"

"No idea, for that you'd have to..." Cecil trailed off with a grimace, grumbling, "oh great."

"Wha- oh," Carlos muttered, Josie looking between them.

Cecil said, "You'd have to ask Kevin, Lauren's preferred demon," to Josie.

Josie sighed, "Now Cecil, I know you don't like him..."

Cecil said, "No one likes him," shortly, crossing his arms.

"...But he means well," Josie sighed.

Cecil snorted roughly, "No he doesn't. He's a good actor."

"Either way, we need his help," Carlos said.

Cecil rubbed his temples, asking, "Could you two take care of it in another room? My blood pressure always raises around him, and with one bad heart..."

"That's fine," Carlos said, rubbing his back.

"Good luck not strangling him yourself," Cecil mumbled.

"I'm a little more tolerant, I think," Carlos said, patting Cecil's back and standing.

Cecil mumbled, "With him, not for long," against the rim of his mug, taking a drink and letting Josie lead Carlos to her summoning room.

"I'll summon him, dear," Josie said, "I’m just a little more practiced than you." She smiled mischievously at him and cast a summoning spell, though Carlos couldn't help but notice she hadn't set up a pentagram or salt ring.

Even without a visible border, when the sandy wind signifying Kevin was appearing swirled into being, it stayed within a definite boundary. Kevin appeared looking downcast, for once, blinking when he noted he was being summoned. He looked up with a hopeful expression that shortly turned to something more like fear, thinking maybe Lauren had been summoning him. He swallowed and stammered, "O-old Woman Josie," as he took a slow step back.

"Hello," Josie said, Carlos half-waving and wondering what was on Kevin's mind.

"Uh...to what do I owe the honor?" Kevin asked, as being summoned by Josie was a rare but special, yet terrifying, thing for any demon.

"We need a bit of information," Josie said.

"Of course, fire away," Kevin said, not seeming to have relaxed much.

"What do you know of Lauren's family?" she asked, Carlos shifting behind her.

"Er..." Kevin said, rubbing his neck, "like...immediate family? She's lived alone for as long as Steve has, if I'm not mistaken. She has an older sister that she never sees because her sister doesn't approve of her natural magic talent...?" He paused to see if he was giving them the information she wanted.

"Is she close to anyone now?" Josie said, "or do you know where she'd go?"

"Well, I mean, she seemed a little interested in a different magician before Steve started visiting her more often. That is to say, she'd hardly remember his name, now," Kevin said. "But...if I may ask, why are you asking? Has she gone missing?"

"She hired someone to kill Cecil, I think," Carlos said, "we're not sure how stable the potion she drank was."

"Oh dear," Kevin said, tilting his head in thought and saying, "I was wondering why Steve kept bringing bottles of wine for them to share."

"It probably wasn't stable," Carlos said, "couldn't you tell it was there?"

"I wasn't around very often when they were on dates," Kevin said, "but Lauren might still have some leftover bottles of wine from Steve at her house."

"We could check it, but..." Carlos said.

"Right now we need to focus on locating Lauren," Josie said.

Kevin tapped his fingers together, saying, "I honestly don't know where she'd go. She has no closer friends in Night Vale other than Steve. I'd think to check her house, first."

"Where is it?" Carlos asked, looking around for a bit of paper to write the address.

"It's house on Deathshadow Lane," Kevin said, not fazed by the name as all the street names in Night Vale were a bit odd.

"Alright," Carlos mumbled, Josie asking "anything else to tell us, Kevin?"

Kevin rubbed is neck, saying, "Not off the top of my head, but...I'd kind of like to see her again, even if she hates me. I might be able to help keep her calm if we find her."

"Why do you want to see her again?" Carlos asked.

"Because, she's arguably summoned me the most. I love seeing her, and hearing her voice, and...ahh," he sighed almost wistfully. "She'll come around."

Carlos exchanged a glance with Josie, saying, "Maybe we'll summon you again once we find her?"

Kevin's smile fell a bit as he said, "Alright, fine, I suppose," in a much less chipper than normal tone. "But before I go, how's Cecil?"

"Uh, fine," Carlos said, "why?"

Kevin fell into a bubbly laughter, saying, "I just worry about him sometimes. Given recent events I figured I should check, since he doesn't talk to me."

"Right," Carlos said, a bit doubtfully.

Kevin was smiling again soon enough, asking, "Is that all I can do for you?"

"I think so," Josie said, "we'll try to summon you when we find Lauren."

"Works for me, good luck," Kevin said, flashing a shark-tooth smile and giving them a wave. Josie sent him home with a flick of her wrist, Carlos handing her the address.

Cecil was still on the couch when they got back, resisting the urge to lie across it as he figured the angels bustling around the house might find it a rude gesture. Carlos sat next to him, Josie sitting in her chair and saying, "He suggested Lauren's address."

Cecil nodded, "Well, it's as good a start as any. If she isn't there we can always go through her stuff for clues."

"Mhm," Carlos said, "and he asked about your health."

Cecil rolled his eyes, mumbling, "I never understood how he never was able to take the hint of I don't want to talk to him."

"I don’t think it was much of a _hint_ ," Carlos said.

"Well," Cecil mumbled, taking a drink of tea, "it's still rather dense of him."

Carlos patted his shoulder, Josie saying, "I think her address is a good start.”

Cecil nodded, setting his tea on the coffee table and asking, "When shall we leave?"


	40. Complications

Carlos had been armed with small ceramic containers of salt that could be thrown, Cecil being given another quick healing session to help with most of his pain and stiffness, and Josie had grabbed a hat to walk to Lauren's house. Cecil insisted on coming along, even though he probably wasn't in the best state to be going anywhere. He claimed it was "to make sure no one harmed a hair on Carlos' head."

"I'm sure no one is going to be aiming at my hair," Carlos said, walking holding Cecil's hand.

The hand not holding Carlos' was on Cecil's chest where he had the healing wound. Cecil said, "Well you never know, do you? What if they studied up on your weaknesses?"

"My weaknesses do not include my hair," Carlos reminded him.

"How do you know?!" Cecil asked. "If something happened to your hair I know I'd be weakened."

"I think you'd just be pissed off," Carlos mumbled.

"That too, but then I'd have to mourn it until it grew back," Cecil pouted, carding a hand through his hair.

"If you had it your way I’d look like Rapunzel," Carlos said.

Cecil said, "Maaaybe," as he looked to the side, picturing it and grinning to himself.

"I couldn't deal with that much hair," Carlos said, "I _am_ eventually going to need a haircut." Cecil gasped, putting his hands over his mouth and giving him a worried expression. "It's not like I’m going to _shave it_ ," Carlos said, "just a trim."

Cecil made a whimper in the back of his throat, slowly reaching a hand out to pet his hair, asking, "How could you?" in a barely audible whisper.

Carlos blinked at him, saying "...It's just a trim."

"Nooo," Cecil whined softly, slowly giving him a sideways hug and keeping one hand in Carlos' hair.

"Cecil, it's just a haircut," Carlos said, "it's not like I’m shaving it off."

"Don't bring up the image," Cecil mumbled, nuzzling his face into his hair.

"Cecil," Carlos said, Josie saying "it's too late, he's on a roll." Cecil made a dejected moan into Carlos' hair, glad they were walking slowly. Carlos gave Josie a pleading look Josie saying, "Cecil, dear, humans get haircuts all the time."

"Seems like a stupid tradition," Cecil's muffled voice replied.

"I need to be able to see, Cece," Carlos said.

"Other people with long hair pull it back," Cecil pointed out.

"I'm not letting it get that long," Carlos said.

Cecil sighed, "Shame, that," as he finally pulled his face away from Carlos' head.

"It'll be ok," Carlos said, patting his shoulder. Cecil purred softly as they continued walking, feeling twitchy to be outside, even though Erika was sent to scout ahead in search of the hunter. Carlos started rubbing his back as they walked, saying, "What happens when we get there?"

Cecil said, "I think that depends on if Lauren's home. You don't think she has lawn gnomes do you Josie?" he asked nervously.

"Uh," Josie said, "she might, dear."

"Oh no," Cecil mumbled, glancing away and wringing his hands together.

"Why?" Carlos asked, glancing to Cecil. Cecil mumbled something incomprehensible, blushing a shade of purple and refusing to meet Carlos' gaze. "What?" Carlos said, looking between Josie and Cecil.

Cecil rubbed his neck, mumbling, "Demons have always had a thing against lawn gnomes."

"You don't like lawn gnomes?" Carlos asked, glancing to Josie who said, "They're a bit afraid of them."

Cecil said, "They're all just waiting to take over the world," more to himself, rubbing his arm.

Carlos blinked at him for a second before saying, "Ok."

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "Lawn gnomes are _evil_ , one almost killed a demon once! A snotty kid threw its pointy hat right at him!"

"How would that kill a demon?" Carlos asked.

"The hat must've been colored with lead paint or something," Cecil shrugged. "We're somewhat allergic to lead. Doesn't burn nearly as bad as salt, but all the same."

"Oh," Carlos said, glancing to Josie again. 

"Demons have long memories, dear," Josie explained.

"And we like to share stories," Cecil added, glancing around.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Carlos said, patting his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're an optimist," Cecil replied as they neared Lauren's street. Carlos paused, looking at the array of houses on the street and noticing one that was painted all in yellow. Cecil glanced to it, frowning in distaste and saying, "If that's Lauren's and that was Kevin's suggestion I wouldn't even be surprised."

"Oh gods, is that a sun weathervane?" Carlos said, squinting at the house.

"Again, wouldn't surprise me," Cecil replied thoughtfully.

"It's an interesting style," Josie said, starting forwards again.

Cecil said, "So, what do we do if there are demons in there?"

"Good question," Carlos mumbled, Josie saying, "I’d imagine we try to scope it out first, and then I might call the angels, if there is a demon."

Cecil asked, "What about the Erika you sent ahead? Isn't he scoping it out?"

"He's keeping an eye on the neighborhood," Josie said.

"Is he supposed to report back before we get there?" Cecil asked.

"Yes," Josie frowned, "hopefully he's just delayed."

Cecil nodded, asking, "If she's home...and we can assume she hired the hunter..."

Josie frowned, "I'm going to ring the doorbell."

"If you think it's safe to," Cecil said when they were nearing the house.

They passed the neighbor's hedge, suddenly able to see the wide array of garden gnomes strewn about the front yard and even set up along and in the walkway to the house. Carlos grimaced, "That actually is a bit creepy." Cecil had frozen in his tracks when he saw them, immediately making a high-pitched squeal of fear and hiding behind Carlos, hissing at them. "Cecil, it's not that bad," Carlos said, half-turning to wrap an arm around him.

"There's an _army_ of them, it's that bad," Cecil growled, growing fangs to bare at them.

"They don't actually move," Carlos said.

"That's what they want you to think," Cecil whispered, following them up the pathway as Josie brushed some of the gnomes aside with magic.

Carlos let Cecil hold his hand in addition to clinging to him as they walked, Carlos stepping over a few that Josie missed with no problems. Cecil had to take wider steps to avoid even walking over the top of the gnomes while also trying to stay clinging to Carlos. Carlos patted his shoulder, Josie heading straight for the front door and opening it.

"Well now, what've we here." A man with a dark complexion sat inside, gun across his lap as his dark brown eyes watched the door open. He straightened and continued, "I hadn't figured my quarry would come directly to me."

Josie frowned, looking him over as Carlos immediately stood in between Cecil and the man. Josie said, "Are you the hunter?”

"Some might look at me like that, I suppose," he said, taking a drag from a long pipe, "but I prefer to think of myself more as a tracker, if you'll have me."

"No, I don't think so," Josie said, waving a hand. When she realized that the magic hadn't worked she didn't hesitate in simply stepping forwards and slapping him.

He didn't try to stop her, but he rubbed his cheek and said, "Well that was rather rude," flatly. Cecil wanted to slap him as well, but figured it was better to use caution.

"Your behavior is rude," Josie said, Carlos keeping firmly between him and Cecil.

He stood up, setting the pipe aside and saying, "Look, I don't have any quarrel with you, only the demon you're busy trying to protect," he nodded towards Cecil. He stood at an impressive height, and smelled mostly of tobacco with a hint of something like ginger to dispel demons.

"Then we seem to be at a disagreement," Josie said, Carlos scowling at him.

He chuckled darkly, "Look, ma'am, just hand him over and this won't have to get ugly." Cecil was simultaneously impressed he was stupid enough to stand up to her and angry that he was threatening her.

Carlos shifted to hold Cecil's hand behind his back, Josie raising a brow and saying, "I have to agree, this doesn't have to end poorly."

"Good, so let me finish my job and I'll be on my way," he said simply, cocking the gun.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Josie said, Carlos wishing he provided more cover for Cecil.

If Cecil had his cat ears out they'd have been laying back, sensing something in the house and saying, "Josie," slowly, though he figured she could tell.

"I know, dear," she mumbled, seeming to grow a few inches taller, as if her stooped back was straightening.

The sound of heavy footfalls echoed through the house, and suddenly a stout man with a round stomach and cheery face with a bit of scruff was walking towards them from behind the apache tracker. He was wearing what appeared to be a crocodile-skin vest over a white button-up, long sleeve shirt, with brown pants and a belt with a large buckle on it with a dragon's head. He said, "Well howdy, strangers," as he tucked his thumbs in his belt loops, continuing to walk forward in his large boots. "Or, mostly strangers," he added, tilting a cowboy hat to Josie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaaaaay moar new characters! and its pretty official, I'm gonna try to end this fic at 45 chapters ;-; however, in case anyone missed it, there IS going to be a sequel with even more new characters and it will be a direct continuation of this story! and hopefully it will include a bit more action and just as much cuddling and maybe a bit more violence and graphic descriptions as well. we'll see when the time comes!!


	41. Hiram

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh 3,000 hits *spazzes and concerns parents* now i have to post two chapters in one day i dont even know what to do what is my life  
> heres a special chapter for a special event dont mind the distant sobs of confusion and happiness

"Hello, Hiram," Josie said, still locked with eye contact on the tracker.

"Good to see you again Josie, and Cecil," he chuckled, "my you picked yourself a good one," he glanced to Carlos.

Cecil mustered up some dignity and straightened, holding the upper part of his own vest and saying, "Thank you," with respect. Carlos half-smiled at Hiram, able to tell how Cecil had moved but more focusing on the tracker.

The hunter sighed, "Hiram, we have a schedule to keep."

"Right," Hiram said, stepping in front of the tracker and saying, "my sincerest apologies, Josie. _What are you talking about?! Don't apologize to them! These mortals are worth nothing!_ " his voice abruptly snapped into a new tone.

Josie glanced to him, raising a brow again and saying, "Do you want to rethink that statement?"

Hiram cracked his neck, chuckling and saying, "Oh you know how Green can be. Statistically he's angry...well, all the time. He has a bit of trouble holding his filter back," his voice changed again, but was much less violent this time.

Carlos stared at him in confusion, Josie saying, "Either way, boys, this doesn't have to end poorly."

"Everything ends poorly," Hiram said in a voice that was suddenly depressed. Just as quickly it snapped to his angry tone, shouting, " _This will only end poorly if you fools continue trying to stop us!_ "

Josie turned more fully to Hiram, saying, "Green, I really find that disrespectful."

Using his original tone, Hiram said, "Sorry, we do have a contract to keep. New summoner and all," before he was growing larger, stepping out the door as his skin turned green and scaly while his neck elongated and started turning yellow. Four other necks similarly sprouted from his shoulders, a purple one saying in a quavering voice, "See here now, we're only supposed to bring Cecil to Lauren, nothing more."

The green head, covered in spines and six varying sized horns along with teeth sticking out of his mouth, shouted, "I'll bring him to her in pieces if they don't agree to give him up quietly!"

"Now boys, I'm sure this'll turn out right in the end," Hiram's main golden head said. Josie folded her hands in front of her, Carlos taking a step back as the tracker stepped forwards. There was a gray head that hung lowly to the side, not apparently being bothered to speak. A blue head next to Hiram's said, "It's simply unfortunate not everyone has the proper judgment when it comes to doing what we ask simply the first time."

"I know, Blue head," Hiram sighed. His golden head had two whisker-like tentacles under his nose while the blue head wore glasses and had two spiraled horns. He stood a good eighteen feet tall once he stepped onto the lawn, forcing Josie, Carlos, and Cecil to back up.

Josie frowned, saying, "Hiram, I am really attempting to avoid this."

"Well so am I," he replied, "but we have our orders. Much as I hate to turn Cecil in, he's a mighty fine poker player."

Green shouted, " _Enough chatter! Purple, roast this bunch to ashes!_ "

"I told you it's _Violet_!" the purple head screeched, though fire started to drip from his jaw anyway. Josie made a hand motion, creating a fire barrier as Carlos looked to Cecil.

Cecil was frowning, saying, "Carlos, you really should get out of here before this turns sour." Violet opened his jaw and blasted a jet of fire at them, and they could feel the heat of it even though Josie's barrier.

"So should you," Carlos said, holding onto his hand.

Cecil squeezed it, saying, "If I go with you, they'll just follow me, and if you dismiss me they'll tell Lauren. Believe me this is a lot more dangerous for you."

Hiram snapped, "Pur--Violet for void's sake you're gonna burn her whole lawn down!" making the purple head stop the stream of fire.

Josie waved her hand again, saying, "I haven't done this in years, I don't want to break my record."

Hiram said, "You don't necessarily need to use your power, Josie. Everyone knows you and I enjoyed a fight once and again."

" _And you cheated! There's no way you could have stood against us without your creature form!_ " Green roared.

"Green," Josie said, "I’m not looking for a fight right now."

Hiram groaned, "Look, we had fun sparrin' in the past, but this is serious business. Now if you don't let Cecil come with us we'll turn to drastic measures whether or not you want to."

"I can't let that happen, dear," Josie said, crossing her arms.

The gray head moaned, "Here we go, they won't listen."

Cecil asked, "What's Lauren planning for me if I go with you?"

Hiram hissed in a breath and said, "Sorry, I can't go divulgin' that sort've information."

"No," Carlos said firmly, Josie saying, "I’m afraid Cecil is off-limits."

" _Insolent mortals! You will pay for your petty attempt at protecting him!_ " Green yelled.

Cecil took a step back and paused, not having expected to bump into anything. Carlos frowned, still watching Hiram and unable to see the demon behind them. Cecil turned his head, just starting to yelp before Kevin smiled, "Hey, brother!" and had put him in an impressively strong chokehold from behind. He licked a feather off his lip, saying, "I hope you prove less troublesome than the angel," as he yanked Cecil backwards, Cecil growling and not able to use his full strength to escape with one weakened heart, try as his tattoos might to shove Kevin's arms off.

Carlos turned, blinking in surprise and just starting forwards when they disappeared from existence. Carlos blinked, pausing and seeing the tracker approaching from the side. The tracker said, "You all do not give up easily," as Hiram's Green head snapped its teeth at Josie.

"No," Carlos frowned, sizing him up.

"Well, now that its brother took my job from me I've only got one thing left to do," he said, stopping a few feet in front of Carlos and ignoring the dragon fighting the old woman, who was beating him off with a cane.

"His. His brother," Carlos said, shifting his weight side to side.

The hunter snorted, "That'd be your first mistake. Thinking they're even close to human," as he threw an experimental punch, not wanting to use guns (as guns don't kill people).

"Still people," Carlos said, ducking the punch easily.

He chuckled, "Not even close to it," as he threw a punch with his other hand and swept his leg at Carlos' feet. Carlos jumped, blocking the punches and swinging. The tracker blocked the swing with his forearm, shoving Carlos' arm back and saying, "You should've stayed home with your chemistry set," as he tried to punch Carlos' stomach.

"You shouldn't be so _racist_ " Carlos replied, blocking with a downswing and kicking the man's shin hard, accompanying it with a punch to the jaw.

He hissed in a breath, taking a step back and rubbing his jaw, saying, "Nice punch. Where'd you learn that?"

"Boxing in college," Carlos said, stepping forwards again and punching his gut.

He was winded by the punch, saying, "I had almost forgotten it can be tougher fighting humans. Then again, I haven't had a hand-to-hand fight in a long time. This is making for good practice," he said as he stepped forward again, putting his foot between Carlos' and blocking another punch followed by an uppercut to his jaw.

Carlos managed to deflect it, the other man's fist only grazing his cheekbone. He then deflected another punch, going in to land a hard blow to the other's sternum.

"Agh," he grunted, taking a few steps back and asking, "out of curiosity, how long have you been wanting to do that?"

"A good while," Carlos said, punching his nose.

"Son of a..." the tracker said, dabbing his nose with a finger and noting it was indeed bleeding. He sighed, "Well, I hate to be a cheater, son, but you're proving difficult," as he drew a shotgun from inside his long overcoat. Carlos frowned, ducking slightly and sizing up the situation. "Oh don't look that panicked, I don't carry around real bullets. Now bullets filled with rock salt, that proves a bit more deadly against my usual quarry," he said, cocking the gun.

"So you basically just told me it's not lethal," Carlos said.

"No, it's not," the tracker said matter-of-factly before shooting at Carlos' leg, "but it'll sting like hell." Carlos jerked out of the way to avoid a direct hit, but the projectile still grazed his leg and left a painful cut. The hunter said, "I'm not aiming to kill you, but I won't hesitate to slow you down. And I suppose it does no good to lecture you about how stupid it is to befriend a demon?"

Carlos was bent over, trying to get his weight off his injured leg and saying, "Stupid to hunt one."

"Oh contraire, I'm only tryin' to make the world a safer place," he said with a grin that soon disappeared when he heard the beat of something flying approaching.

Carlos looked up, frowning in confusion and realizing he couldn't hear the sounds of fighting anymore. Three blue metal machines appeared in the sky, coming towards them at an alarmingly fast rate. The tracker stowed his gun away, saying, "That, my friends, is my cue to leave. Stay out of trouble, but keep practicing those punches," he told Carlos before turning and running somewhere behind the house. Carlos looked up, not sure if he was in trouble but noticing that the strange machines followed the apache tracker and not him.

They heard sirens a moment later, and soon a host of police cars was approaching from both directions of the road. Four of them screeched to a halt in front of Lauren's house, men in helmets that blocked their faces getting out of the cars. Other cop cars made blockades on the road, and Hiram looked over from his fight with Josie (which had consisted of her whacking his noses away with duel-wielded canes, not unlike Whack-A-Mole). Green shouted, " _Begone, you pathetic_ -" before Hiram clamped a foot around Green's muzzle. Josie darted inside the house while he was distracted, Carlos slowly straightening and starting to limp after her.


	42. Tying Loose Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trust me i'm never going to get better at chapter titles

Kevin released Cecil only when they were in a salted pentagram drawn with...lead paint, of course, Cecil thought to himself. The second thing he noticed was Kevin willingly trapped himself inside with Cecil, and it was a pentagram that took up a majority of the room. The final thing he noted was Lauren sitting in a chair just outside the pentagram's borders. Kevin grinned widely, brushing excess feathers off his clothing and saying, "I missed you, Cecil!"

"I didn't," Cecil replied flatly, looking to Lauren and asking, "What do you want?"

Lauren said, "Kevin has his orders. I'm only here to watch."

Cecil was about to ask what she meant when he felt claws scraping his side open. He hissed in a breath and faced Kevin, who flexed his lion-clawed hand and said with a chipper tone, "Lauren says she'll forgive me if I make you pay for what you did to Steve. I didn't want to, at first, but my affections for her won me over!" 

"Of course," Cecil grumbled, manifesting his tattoos and thinking over the situation, knowing he was in no fit state to fight a usually equally strong demon. 

Kevin manifested the crack-like tattoos on his own skin into his normal insect-leg tattoos as well, saying, "It's nothing personal," with a smile before lunging at Cecil. As Cecil predicted, it didn't take too long before he was sitting, holding his side where Kevin had deepened the wound, as it was now the most serious cut he was sporting besides bruises from being slammed into the floor and ceiling. Kevin said, "Wow Cecil, I didn't think a shot to the heart would put you off your game so much."

Lauren sighed, "Kevin, dear, just finish the job so we can go after Carlos, and then everyone else who didn't help me protect my Steve."

'This chick is nuts' Cecil thought to himself, shortly before blinking and realizing...she had just threatened Carlos. "Drastic times," Cecil muttered to himself.

Kevin asked, "What?" before Cecil turned into a cat, flicking his tail and meowing, rolling over and ignoring the fact his wounds transferred over. Kevin gasped in a breath, cooing, "Awww! Lauren look at him! I keep forgetting how cute his animal form is!" as he bent down and rubbed Cecil's side. Cecil resisted the urge to hiss at or bite him, as he was hurting the wounds in his side.

Lauren snapped, "Kevin, don't be-" before they heard steps coming down the stairs into her summoning hall.

An old woman came into view, surveying the room curiously and focusing on Kevin. Kevin glanced up, saying, "Oh, hi Josie!" as Cecil said, "Thank the void, Josie!"

Josie crossed her arms, saying, "I’m afraid we're going to have to end this, dear."

Lauren stood, shouting, "No, not again! Kevin, kill him!" making Kevin turn his head to look at her, and though he didn't look happy anymore his claws returned. Cecil's fur bristled as he scrunched up, not having the energy to transform back.

Josie frowned, creating a very unusual growling noise in the back of her throat and suddenly exploding into a much larger form, roaring in multiple deafening tones and slamming back to the floor.

"Oh dear," Kevin squeaked, backing away from Cecil, who curled up in a small ball to give the dragon in the room more space.

Josie snorted, stepping over Cecil and breaking the pentagram, wrapping the tip of her tail around him and lifting him up. She snorted again, expelling a tongue of flame and saying, "Perhaps it would be best to run."

Kevin nodded and saying, "You know, I always _did_ think you were exceptionally smart, Josie, but I can't go home without..." he glanced to Lauren.

Josie raised a brow, turning to Lauren. Lauren glared back, trying to look unfazed by the fact there was a dragon in her basement. Lauren said, "I won't dismiss him, I demand justice for what that damned demon and his scientist did!" She paused and looked behind Josie when she heard a multitude of other footsteps coming down the stairs, four policemen in armor and covered faces entering the room. One said, "Nobody move!" as they drew what looked like electrified pens. Another said, "Lauren Mallard, you're under arrest for ingestion of an improperly created love potion. It's for the safety of Night Vale that we ask you to come quietly until we can get you sorted out."

Lauren blinked, making confused sounds before saying, "Well I never...!" before two men were approaching her, one giving her a shock as the other grabbed her arm. A third policeman said, "Josie, I believe you can dismiss that for us," in reference to Kevin.

Josie nodded, saying something in an archaic language to Kevin. Kevin squirmed slightly at the power of the language but was shortly forced back into the demon realm. Cecil remained curled up, losing some blood and feeling a bit colder than usual.

"I'll be checking on the boy," Josie said, "I’ll take care of that front of things."

They nodded, one asking, "What of the scientist?" as the other two brought Lauren upstairs.

"I'll get him, too," Josie said, transforming to hold Cecil in her arms.

Cecil made a quiet cat-like moan, a mix of relief and pain. The man, who they noted had a golden Sheriff star on his armor, nodded and added, "That was good work today, Josie. We might need you to dismiss that five-headed dragon upstairs as well."

"Ah, right," Josie said, speaking the language again and hearing a quiet, distant snap of Hiram being sent home.

"Thank you," the sheriff nodded. "It's been awhile since we've had a mess like this to clean up. Oh, and one other thing..." he said, not sure how to continue.

"Yes, dear?" Josie said, "I’m in a bit of a hurry."

"One of my men found an angel of yours, has a broken wing and some other wounds, knocked out cold about a block away from here," he said as they started upstairs.

She frowned, tucking Cecil somewhat closer to her and saying, "I see. I'll get on it immediately, thank you." She turned, heading back outside.

Cecil remained huddled close to Josie, enjoying the fact she was warm (as she had a fire-breathing dragon bottled up inside her). Josie headed out to find Carlos just barely getting to the doorway, Carlos immediately looking concerned for Cecil. Cecil opened his eyes, tail waving back and forth when he saw the familiar lab coat.

Carlos frowned, Josie casting a healing spell and saying, "I can stop his bleeding, but to be honest I’m a bit worn out of magic. I’m dulling the pain and stopping infection and bleeding. I'm sorry dear, you'll have to heal the rest with time."

"You've done plenty already, Josie, I'll be alright," Cecil said, nuzzling her arm.

She patted his head gently, half-healing Carlos's cut and saying, "There you are, dear," as she handed Cecil to him gently.

Cecil immediately started purring, cuddling into Carlos' chest and licking his chin. "You alright?" Carlos asked, petting Cecil's back gently as Josie started leading them to where the angel apparently was.

"Better now," Cecil said, leaning as much into Carlos as he could.

"The police have Lauren, and the other demons are home," Josie said.

"Good to hear," Cecil said. "I didn't know the Secret Police were still in operation."

"They're _always_ in operation," Josie said, turning the corner as Carlos continued to pet Cecil gently.

"I suppose I should've known," Cecil mumbled, resting his head on Carlos' arm.

"Probably," Josie grinned, walking a little ways and pausing, frowning when she saw the angel.

The angel had been woken up, sitting in a chair with several feathers ruffled and patches of them missing, a wing at an odd angle as a cop observed it, a red cross symbol on his armor. He had claw marks down his face, and what appeared to be a large bite mark on his shoulder where the clothes had been torn.

Josie started forwards immediately, tutting and speaking in another language to it. The angel switched dialects, not seeming particularly in pain. Cecil turned an ear to listen to their conversation, understanding only a few words of it. She frowned, waving a hand and half-healing the cuts, repairing the broken bones while she was at it.

The angel put a hand on her arm to stop her, continuing to speak in their own language. Cecil began to ignore them, asking, "Can we have hot chocolate?"

"Yes," Carlos murmured, petting his back, "I’ll make some at Josie’s, but… why are you a cat?"

"Ah, I...well, I used it to distract Kevin from killing me," Cecil mumbled. "He loves animals."

Carlos grinned, "I told you it'd come in handy."

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "Once in awhile, sure. I had to stay like this because I'm ah...not quite fit to change back."

"Alright," Carlos frowned, "you sure you're ok?"

"Mostly?" Cecil said with uncertainty. "Kevin got in a few good hits, but Josie fixed most of it."

"If you say so," Carlos said, petting his back.

Cecil purred some more, saying quietly, "It's really unfortunate I have to avoid strenuous activity."

Carlos snorted, "I think we can work something out."

Cecil chuckled, "I hope so," before licking Carlos' arm. "What happened to the hunter?"

"He ran once the police showed up," Carlos said, "don't worry, I broke his nose. And got a few other hits in."

Cecil grinned, "Good." He paused and asked, "He didn't insult your hair did he?"

"No," Carlos snorted, "he didn't."

"Good," Cecil repeated, resting his head on Carlos' arm again.

"It's not really an insult most would think of," Carlos said, watching Josie help the angel to its feet.

Cecil said, "If he _had_ insulted it I'd be helping the Secret Police track him down, not that they need my help. They've got their own share of demons and secret government-approved technology, you know."

"Of course," Carlos said, petting Cecil's head.

Cecil purred, stretching his head into Carlos' hand and grinning, saying, "I think we both deserve a nap."

"Yes," Carlos grinned, following Josie and the angel home.


	43. A Nice Nap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so these last few chapters are gonna feel obscenely short but thats because we really wanted to get to 45 chapters (we have a weird thing about ending fics on numbers like that, idk i think it's mild OCD or maybe secret police influence)

Carlos carried Cecil to the guest room they were told to share, both having hot chocolate before taking a well-needed nap. Cecil started off in his cat form tucked against Carlos' stomach and woke up as a human still being spooned by the scientist. Carlos yawned, waking up a minute after Cecil and mumbling, "Hey."

"Hello," Cecil grinned, purring contently and leaning back into him. Carlos grinned, rubbing Cecil's stomach. Cecil purred louder, stretching his arms out and tucking them back in, cuddling under the warm blankets and realizing he was shirtless, though he was warm enough not to mind.

"Feel alright?" Carlos asked, tucking his face into the back of Cecil's neck.

"Much better," Cecil said with content, tilting his head forward.

"Good," Carlos said, "I was worried."

Cecil knew he'd get new scars on his side from the blow Kevin gave him, saying, "I'm fine, thanks to you and Josie."

"Mhmm," Carlos hummed, "feel like moving anytime soon?"

"What sort of question is that?" Cecil asked, slipping a foot between Carlos'.

"A silly one," Carlos grinned, kissing Cecil's shoulder. Cecil hummed in agreement, grinning lacing his fingers with Carlos' hand, which was over his side. "But we should start moving soon," Carlos admitted.

"Noooo," Cecil moaned, rolling his head to be facedown into the pillow.

"Noo," Carlos said, rolling Cecil over to face him.

Cecil smirked a bit, asking, "You sure we can't lay here a little longer?" Carlos smiled, scooting closer to kiss him. Cecil put a hand on his jaw, kissing him back and saying, "See, I'd prefer this to getting up."

"But we should find out what happened," Carlos sighed.

Cecil groaned, "Probably. Did you still want to experiment with locking my summoning spell?"

"Well, I don’t think we need to lock it anymore," Carlos said, "maybe there's a spell to let you summon yourself."

Cecil nodded, saying, "There might be a tome at home about it, or I can ask around to see if anyone knows whether it's possible."

"Alright," Carlos sighed, kissing his cheek.

Cecil grinned and blushed the familiar shade of purple, saying, "I wonder if you should summon Dana so we can let her know what happened."

"Alright," Carlos said, "but maybe you should put on pants first."

Cecil glanced down, mumbling, "Oh yeah," to himself. He added, "By the way, I hope you know Dana's probably been busy spreading all kinds of stories."

"What kinds of stories?" Carlos asked, straightening and sitting up.

"What kind do you think?" Cecil snorted. "Given even this morning as an example; me covered in scars and waking up naked?"

"Great," Carlos sighed, rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil said, "Don't worry, they all were making the assumption before anything had even happened. I did, however, have to help a couple demons resolve some bets last time I was home."

"Resolve bets?" Carlos asked, raising a brow.

Cecil cleared his throat quietly, saying, "Y'know, about how soon we..." Carlos raised a brow, sliding off the bed and standing. "Awh come on!" Cecil groaned, reaching for him half-heartedly but staying under the covers.

"We gotta get up, Cece," Carlos said, bending over to kiss his cheek.

"Hmph," Cecil grumped but sat up, running a hand through his hair and pretty immediately taming it before standing and reaching through a hole in the air to pull fresh clothes presumably from his closet.

"You've got to show me how that works," Carlos said, changing from a small cache of clothes Josie had gotten for him.

"It's just a pulse of magic to open a rift, of sorts," Cecil said. "I could teach you how, in fact, seeing as you've had practice with magic."

"A rift between realms, though?" Carlos asked.

"Sure," Cecil said. "We can't use them to step back and forth, as it's a longer distance than it looks, and it saps a lot of energy the larger the rift is."

"Ah," Carlos mumbled, "interesting."

"It's sort of like a floating window," Cecil tried in a new way to explain as he pulled on boxers and pants.

"I think I got it," Carlos said, pulling a t-shirt over his head.

Cecil said, "Anyway, once we talk to Dana, I think we're moving on to asking Josie about spells that'd let me travel back and forth? And if she doesn't know about any I get sent home?"

"Sure," Carlos said, trying to comb through his hair.

Cecil chuckled, "Why don't you buy a comb instead of using your fingers?"

"Because," Carlos said, "I have curly enough hair that if I did that it'd puff up." Cecil raised a brow, slowly reaching into another rift and pulling out a comb. Carlos glanced over, his eyes widening slightly as he took a slow step back and said, "No."

"Please?" Cecil begged with a slow yet mischievous smile, taking a step forward.

"Cecil..." Carlos started, backing up again.

"Come on just one time," Cecil pleaded, "or I'll do it while you sleep," he threatened. Carlos groaned, slumping in defeat and not backing up anymore. "Don't look so defeated, I can fix it," Cecil mumbled as he walked forward triumphantly, asking, "may I, or do you want to?"

"I'm not doing it," Carlos sighed, sitting.

Cecil shrugged, "Your loss," as he started expertly combing through half of Carlos' hair. After a few brushes, it indeed started to puff out more, to Cecil's entertainment. Carlos sighed, resting his head in his hand and letting Cecil have his way. "Your hair is the best thing in the world," Cecil squealed, petting the puffy side and then the normal side, wiggling a bit with joy and setting the comb aside to use a spot of magic to try to un-puff his hair.

Carlos grinned, "Your happy dance is great."

"What happy dance?" Cecil asked defensively, refusing to admit to it.

"This happy dance," Carlos said, wiggling like Cecil had.

Cecil blushed, mumbling, "I try not to," as he worked on Carlos' hair.

"Why not?" Carlos asked, a bit baffled, "I love it."

"I'm glad you do, but back home that just earns a bit more embarrassment," Cecil mumbled, getting carried away with fixing Carlos' hair.

"It's sweet," Carlos frowned, "I wish you'd do it more."

Cecil gave him a look, grinning slowly and blushing, saying, "What the heck, I'll try to resist the urge to...well, resist doing that," he chuckled, "but only around you."

"Alright," Carlos grinned, kissing his cheek and asking, “are you done fiddling with my hair?"

"Just about," Cecil said. "I'd suggest looking in a mirror but it'd be far too tempting for me to play with."

"I'm going to trust you on this," Carlos sighed, standing to draw a pentagram.

Cecil said, "It looks just fine. Maybe more like a light case of bed-head now," he grinned.

"That's what it usually looks like," Carlos sighed, casting the summoning spell for Dana.


	44. Science

Dana appeared in the middle of laughing at something, glancing around and saying, "Well speak of the devil and he'll summon you. Hey guys," she waved.

"Hi," Carlos grinned, "Should I be concerned about what you were talking about?"

"Whaaat? Nooo," she snorted, waving a hand on dismissal, "pshaw, I'd never help spread a rumor or two," she flashed a smile.

"Great," Carlos mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Well I doubt you brought me here to give me new material," she smirked. "What's up?"

"We wanted to tell you what was going on," Carlos said, "have you seen Kevin recently?"

She thought a moment, saying, "Well, he was muttering something about dragons last I saw him. He just seemed shaken, but he'll probably bounce back into his happy-go-lucky self soon. Why?"

"Uh," Carlos said, sharing a look with Cecil, "we arrested Lauren... she summoned Hiram and Kevin to protect herself."

Dana blinked, "That's...news to me. I was wondering where Hiram had gone, but...she was strong enough to summon him?" She whistled, "She must've been damn determined."

"Josie got into a fight with him," Carlos said.

"Ah, that'd have been a sight. They used to brawl on occasion," she said with a look of remembrance.

"I don’t think it got really heated," Carlos said, "I believe she did... scare Kevin off."

"That I'd believe, but if Lauren's arrested then Kevin might be a bit nuts for awhile," she frowned.

"In what way?" Carlos asked.

Cecil said, "He rarely gets put in a bad mood but...he'll be hard to calm down. Once we pin him though we'll just hand him a stuffed kitten and a cardboard sunshine and he'll be happy in no time."

"Great," Carlos frowned, "sounds.... fun."

Dana muttered, "That's one way to put it," as she glanced aside. "Anything else I should know? Or did you need me to do something while I'm here?"

"I don't… think so?" Carlos said, looking to Cecil.

"Not that I can think of," Cecil shrugged. "The secret police chased the tracker away, so..."

"Tracker?" she asked with a hint of concern.

"Apache?" Carlos said, "he shot Cecil, apparently Lauren hired him."

She frowned, "I had heard there was a skilled demon hunter in Night Vale, but I never dreamed he was real, or that I'd get to hear such a personal account."

"He was... interesting," Carlos said, "kind of racist."

She rolled her eyes, asking, "What'd you expect from a demon hunter?"

"True," Carlos mumbled, "I punched him a couple times."

Dana chuckled, "I'm sure you did; a good punch can be some nice payback," she added as though from experience.

"I think so," Carlos said, "he didn’t seem too violent against me."

Cecil said, "He hunts demons. He might have _morals_ about hurting humans," he added with a dark chuckle.

Carlos shrugged, wrapping an arm around Cecil gently. Dana said, "Well, given the state of that bedspread I have a new story to share," she grinned, clapping her hands together. "Thanks for the updates!"

Carlos looked over his shoulder, saying, "We took a _nap_ ," somewhat indignantly.

She simply looked more amused, Cecil mumbling to Carlos, "You're just giving her more ammo."

Carlos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and saying, "Never mind."

Cecil said, "I might be home in a bit."

"Alright, I'll prepare everyone for your annual return," she said with sarcasm. Carlos snorted, covering it with a cough instead. Dana chuckled, waving and saying, "I'll see you around."

"See you," Carlos said, before saying the returning word for her.

She disappeared in a blue-green wisp, Cecil saying, "Well, at least she's a good story teller."

"Great," Carlos sighed, leaning over to kiss him.

Cecil made a slightly surprised, "Mmf," but kissed him back, saying, "You are doing _nothing_ to dissuade her," and poking his chest.

"Because you are," Carlos said, standing and offering a hand.

"Touché," Cecil replied, taking the hand and standing carefully, making a face when the scars at his side pulled.

Carlos sighed, rubbing Cecil's back and saying, "C'mon, let's go find Josie."

The demon nodded, casually putting an arm around Carlos' shoulders "for support" as they moved downstairs, where the other angels had been tending to the wounded Erika.

Josie was bustling about making cookies in the kitchen, popping out when she heard Carlos and Cecil on the stairs. Cecil sniffed the air, licking his lips and saying, "I smell cookies."

"I've been baking, dear," Josie smiled, handing him a cookie.

Cecil grinned in excitement, taking it with a thank-you and taking a bite, making his happy wiggle with Carlos in mind. Carlos grinned, Josie smiling and saying, "Lauren is being detained as long as the potion is still in effect."

Cecil said around a mouthful, "Buh wha iff the poshon has permanen' affecks?"

"Then I suppose she'd be in there permanently," Josie sighed.

Cecil swallowed, saying, "Kevin won't be happy about that."

"No," Carlos frowned, "apparently not."

Cecil shook his head, saying, "No, I don't know if you understand. He says he loves everybody, but the way he acts when he talks about Lauren..." he shook his head.

"There's no chance they'd let her summon him while she's in there," Carlos said.

"I know there isn't, that's what I'm concerned about," Cecil said. "I told you close to when we first met, it's not totally uncommon for a demon to fall in love with a summoner."

"Right," Carlos frowned, "maybe we could just... I don't know, figure something out."

Cecil frowned, "Unless you mean lock him permanently in our realm I don't know what we _could_ do. I suppose there might be a way to wipe his memory, but it could go terribly wrong."

"Let's see how it goes, first," Carlos suggested.

Josie said, "For now, we should see how he does."

They nodded, Cecil saying, "Josie, we did have a question for you."

"Yes, dear?" Josie asked, handing Carlos a cookie.

"We were wondering if you or any of the Erikas knew anything about a demon having a spell to travel back and forth between realms of their own will," Cecil said.

Josie frowned, "In theory such spells would exist."

Cecil said, "We just figured it'd be easier than Carlos having to summon me back and forth."

"I don't know of any specific spells," Josie said, "but it should be possible."

Cecil asked, "So we'd have to invent one or ask around the demon realm to see if anyone knows of one?"

"I would ask first," Josie said, "and hope to avoid nasty side effects."

"True," Cecil mused. "I don't know how long I'd have to be gone to ask, but there's not a threat to me being there anymore."

"True," Carlos said, "that is nice."

"It is," Cecil agreed, taking another bite of cookie.

"I have to recommend resting a day," Josie said, "you've had a very rough week."

Cecil snorted, "I'll say," as he finished up the cookie.

"Yeah, we'll take it easy for a bit," Carlos said, rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil purred softly, saying, "We'll just have to find ways to waste time until we're both recovered enough."

"I could maybe teach you some simple science," Carlos grinned.

Cecil gasped, putting his hands up to his mouth and squeaking, "You could do that?!"

Carlos chuckled, "Yeah, it's not rocket... science. Never mind. Yeah, simple science isn't that hard."

Cecil smiled widely, giving Carlos a hug and nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

"It's nothing," Carlos grinned, patting Cecil's back.

Cecil purred loudly, mumbling, "I think being wounded makes me more cuddly..." in thought.

"Really," Carlos said, patting his back again as Josie said, "I’ll be getting dinner in an hour and a half, dears."

Cecil nodded, staying close to Carlos (as he was still a bit cold from the blood loss) and asking, "How soon can you start teaching me about science?"

"Uh," Carlos said, "if I can borrow some ingredients, pretty immediately." Cecil squealed like he was about to participate in some bad-boy experiment, coughing to cover it and glancing away. Carlos rolled his eyes, saying, "In that case, Josie, can I borrow your baking soda and vinegar?"

"Why do we need baking soda and vinegar?" Cecil asked curiously.

"Science," Carlos grinned, tugging him to the kitchen.


	45. Magical Mishap

Cecil nearly died of confusion and amazement with the reaction of vinegar added to baking soda. He showed similar interest with all the experiments Carlos showed him and claimed he couldn't wait to try some of it at home to show the other demons he could be a scientist, too. He also told Carlos he could bring back some ingredients from the demon realm for Carlos to experiment with.

"That'd be great," Carlos grinned, kissing Cecil's cheek, "I’m glad you're excited."

Cecil blushed, saying, "Well it's not every day a demon dates a human _scientist_ ," he said the last word as though it were a kingly title.

"It's not often that a _scientist_ gets a date at all," Carlos chuckled.

"Aren't you lucky, then?" Cecil grinned, stepping behind him and wrapping his arms over Carlos' stomach.

"Clearly," Carlos said, leaning his head back against Cecil.

Cecil purred, kissing Carlos' neck and asking, "Shouldn't we be working on some sort of spell for me, or am I considered not recovered enough yet?"

"We can," Carlos said, "it doesn't really involve physical activity to read through some books."

Cecil said, "Alright. I don't suppose Josie has any record players so we can have background noise..."

"I can ask," Carlos said, "but it's not the most common thing to be able to bring to a bedroom."

Cecil thought, asking, "Maaaybe just play it loudly enough so we can hear it?"

"No strenuous activities," Carlos reminded him.

Cecil groaned, planting his face into Carlos' shoulder and mumbling, "Recovering without magic is awful; how do you humans manage?"

"Bed rest," Carlos said, reaching over his shoulder to pat Cecil's head.

Cecil immediately tried to stretch his head into Carlos' hand, accidentally pushing Carlos forward while doing so. Cecil said, "Well, cuddling is still nice."

"It is," Carlos grinned, "and I can think of a few not-too-strenuous activities."

Cecil asked, "Like what?" with general curiosity, as the way things worked in the demon realm could be drastically different.

"Here, I’ll show you," Carlos smirked, pushing him gently towards the bed.

~~~~~~~~~

A week later, Cecil and Carlos had read only about a quarter of Josie's library on the subject of books that involved summoning spells. An angel helped them select which books to check in, and even helped scan the pages on occasion for relevant information. Cecil had been sent back home during the daytime hours every other day to stay caught up at home, and was thoroughly enjoying snuggling Carlos by night. After he was mostly recovered, they started some trials, Cecil being sent home one occasion and brought back covered in a green slime, saying the spell had affected the ability to control where he was appearing.

Carlos had helped shower the slime off Cecil, giving him a sweater of his to wear over his change of clothes. He then pulled out another spell book, saying, "There's another spell that should work."

"Alright, what've you got?" Cecil asked, not fazed by the fact he landed near an angry, drunk demon, who happened to vomit on him and figuring that wasn't worth telling Carlos.

"Spell that should let you decide when to come when summoned," Carlos said, "doesn’t look like it needs ingredients."

"Alright, let's give it a shot," Cecil said, clapping his hands together. "Do I need to say anything?"

"I don’t think so..." Carlos said, shifting, "this should just...." He started chanting in the archaic language Josie sometimes spoke, getting a minute and a half in before frowning. He hesitated, feeling something, and looked up at Cecil before he felt a strange tug and disappeared, the book falling to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap, folks. i decided to just post these final two chapters together because they were so short and i'd hate to keep you waiting for the finale. now to not post the sequel for another week and keep you all waiting >:D (we're turning into Moffat mini-mes at this rate)  
> a huge thank you to everyone for the comments and reads and sticking through with us to the end! we'll see you all again when i publish the sequel, and until then  
> goodnight, AO3  
> goodnight


End file.
